Rolls-Royce, the FTSE 100 engine maker, has announced a £1.5 billion share buyback to be completed by its full-year results in February.
The interim programme is part of an existing £7 billion to £9 billion buyback plan covering 2026 to 2028.
The company has substantially completed its £2.5 billion buyback for this year.
Rolls-Royce backed guidance for 2026 underlying operating profit of £4.7 billion to £4.9 billion and free cash flow of £3.8 billion to £4.0 billion.
Underlying operating profit was £3.46 billion last year.
Chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic said the company would revisit its mid-term targets at the full-year results on 25 February.
Flying hours at lower end
Large engine flying hours, which drive Rolls-Royce's servicing income, grew 4% in the first ten months to 114% of 2019 levels.
The company expects the full-year figure to come in towards the lower end of its 115% to 120% range.
Some airlines outside the Middle East have cut capacity because of high fuel prices, which Rolls-Royce expects to reverse when prices fall.
Flying hours at Middle Eastern airlines are above pre-conflict levels.
The large engine order backlog stands at around 2,500 engines.
Recent orders include 70 Trent 7000 engines for Avolon, the aircraft lessor, and 22 for Cathay Group.
Data centres drive power orders
Power Systems order intake rose 62% in the first nine months, taking the backlog to a record £8.6 billion.
Orders for gas engines nearly tripled, driven by data centres that need their own primary power supply.
The company is finalising a multi-year contract to supply backup engines to a hyperscaler, one of the large cloud computing operators.
In October, Rolls-Royce and the UK government announced plans for a £2.5 billion, ten-year research programme on jet engine technology.
S&P Global upgraded the group's credit rating to A- in September.
