MTU Aero Engines Gives More Guidance after the First Six Months

In the first six months of 2021, MTU Aero Engines AG generated revenue of €2.004 million; in the first half of 2020, revenue was €2.049 million. Net income developed in line with operating profit and was €135 million, compared with €161 million in the prior-year period. “MTU continued to operate profitably in the first half of this year. Based on this performance and the improved visibility up to year-end, we can now give a more precise guidance for the 2021 fiscal year,” said Reiner Winkler, CEO of MTU Aero Engines AG. “We are somewhat more optimistic than previously about the commercial series business and the military business, but have slightly reduced our forecast for commercial maintenance. Overall, we are slightly increasing the lower end of our target ranges for both revenue and earnings.”

MTU now expects full-year revenue to be around €4.3 to €4.5 billion. Previously, the company’s guidance was for a revenue range of between €4.2 and €4.6 billion. MTU posted higher revenue in both the commercial maintenance business and the military business in the first six months of the year.

In commercial maintenance, revenue rose 6 percent from €1.27 billion to €1.35 billion.

“In the core MRO business, revenue was below the prior-year level. However, we were able to offset this thanks to sustained high demand for maintenance services for Geared Turbofan engines,” reported Winkler. MTU is well-positioned for the future. In the first six months, the company won MRO contracts worth U.S.$3 billion; the value in the comparable prior-year period was U.S.$1.7 billion. “That fuels our confidence that the downturn has bottomed out and a sustained recovery has started on the aftermarket,” said Winkler. The most important revenue generators in the commercial maintenance business were the PW1100G-JM, which is used in the A320neo, and the V2500 for the classic A320 aircraft family.

Revenue from the military business increased from €183 million in the first half of 2020 to €187 million. The main source of revenue was the EJ200 engine for the Eurofighter.

In the commercial engine business, revenue declined from €631 million to €515 million. “The decline in revenue was particularly sharp in the commercial series business. Here, the decrease in organic revenue was in the 20-percent range. The organic drop in revenue in the spare parts business was in the high single-digit percentage range,” reported Winkler. The main revenue generator in the commercial engine business was the PW1100G-JM for the A320neo.

The order backlog at the end of the first six months was €20.5 billion, an increase of 10% compared with year-end 2020 (December 31, 2020: €18.6 billion). The majority of these orders were for the V2500 engine for the A320 and the PW1000G family of Geared Turbofan™ engines, especially the PW1100G-JM for the A320neo.

In the first six months, earnings declined faster in the MRO business than in the OEM business.