Meggitt posts major statutory loss on the back of aerospace industry crisis

Meggitt, the engineering company which makes parts for the aerospace, defence and energy markets, has seen revenues plunge and and profits disappear in its full-year 2020 results.

The Coventry firm said this morning (March 4) that revenues dipped by 26% last year to £1.68bn, while statutory operating profits were wiped out as the firm posted a loss of £297m against a profit of £325m in 2019. This was attributed to non-cash impairment of intangible assets and other write downs.

Tony Wood, chief executive, said: “Faced with a reduction in activity and demand in one of our core markets, we acted fast, executed well operationally and took decisive action while positioning the Group for the recovery in civil aerospace. While our full year performance has clearly been impacted by the ongoing effects of COVID-19, it also reflects the resilience and diverse nature of the Group, including the mitigating impact of our defence and energy businesses.

“The roll-out of vaccines, coupled with significant pent-up demand to travel, provides a supportive backdrop for the recovery in civil aerospace in 2021, although this positive development is likely to take time to feed through into growth in global flight activity and the aftermarket.

“Based on the significant progress we’ve made over the last four years to transform the Group, the effective actions we’ve taken in 2020, diverse end market exposure and leading market positions, we are well placed to benefit from the recovery and to continue to deliver long-term profitable growth.”