Meggitt’s revenue rises amid ‘uneven’ air travel recovery

(Reuters) -British aircraft parts maker Meggitt Plc said on Thursday its revenue for the first quarter rose, owing to some recovery in global travel and growth in its energy business, but supply chain disruptions persisted.

Meggitt, which had agreed to be taken over by U.S. peer Parker-Hannifin, also said the deal is still expected to close in the third quarter. Britain is currently probing the takeover over national security concerns.

The company’s revenue for the three months ended March rose 5%, compared with last year. However, this was still down 23% versus the same period in pre-pandemic 2019.

Meggitt flagged that the recovery in civil aerospace remains “uneven” as supply woes continue and extended lockdowns in China underline the COVID-19 pandemic’s lingering impact.

The group, which manufactures components for aircraft makers such as Boeing and Airbus and supplies wheel and brake systems for military programmes, said defence revenue fell due to weaker orders from the United States — its core military market — reflecting the impact of Washington’s reduced stockpiling of aircraft parts.

Defence accounts for more than 40% of the group’s revenue.

(Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)