Profits nosedive

ENGINEERING giant Rolls-Royce plunged £2.9billion into the red last year as it counted the cost of fixing problems with its Trent 1000 aircraft engines.

The big loss, coming after profits of £3.9billion the previous year, was also a result of Airbus announcing plans to end production of its A380 superjumbo airliner.

Without those factors, annual profits jumped 71 per cent to £633million.

Rolls was blasted for announcing 4600 job losses last summer. Two-thirds are in the UK, with many at the aircraft engine maker’s Derby HQ. THE factory that makes Fox’s Glacier Mints could close, with 200 jobs at risk. Valeo Foods Group plans to merge its Big Bear Confectionery business into its Tangerine Confectionery arm.

The move, which would see Big Bear’s Leicester site shut, was branded “devastating” by the union Usdaw. A SMALL energy firm has put big rivals to shame by announcing a price cut. Bulb will reduce bills by an average of two per cent from March 21 due to a fall in wholesale energy costs since December.

This comes after big UK suppliers, including British Gas, announced plans to hike prices by about 10 per cent in April. It followed an increase in regulator Ofgem’s price cap on standard variable tariffs. Bulb’s average bill will drop by £20 a year.

The firm said that even after the cut, it will still make £50-a-year profit per customer. It last increased prices in September when a typical bill rose £102 to £1025 a year.