Rolls-Royce Presses Cost-Cutting Effort

   (FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 11/25/15) 
   By Robert Wall 

LONDON -- Rolls-Royce Holdings PLC Chief Executive Warren East on Tuesday promised far-reaching restructuring at the British engine maker after a series of earnings missteps, and he signaled some activities could be shed even while the company remains diversified.

The maker of engines for Boeing Co. and Airbus Group SE jetliners plans more layoffs as the company prunes management to streamline decision-making, which Mr. East said is overly cumbersome.

Rolls-Royce, which previously announced 3,600 jobs would be cut in its aerospace and marine businesses, wouldn't quantify the scale of additional job losses. The company promises savings of GBP 150 million ($226.9 million) to GBP 200 million a year beginning in 2017, though it still is assessing upfront costs to reach those targets. Mr. East faces pressure to show results from the turnaround effort. The share price at the FTSE 100 blue-chip company has declined 32% this year. U.S. activist investor ValueAct Capital Management LP has become its largest shareholder and is seeking a board seat.

Mr. East has repeatedly stressed that the review was focused on operations. Strategic decisions such as whether to shed business lines weren't on the agenda, he has said, despite concerns outside the company that its land- and sea-engine operations are a drag on its aerospace activities, the company's largest profit contributor.

That doesn't mean the company wouldn't hive off some activities. "A bit of portfolio optimization could be done," he said, without identifying possible targets for disposal.

Rolls-Royce has struggled to deliver on previous cost-cutting efforts and been hit by weakening demand for some civil aircraft engines, including aftermarket support.

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November 25, 2015 02:47 ET (07:47 GMT)

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