Rolls Royce (RR.) announced a £1 billion share repurchase plan on Thursday, to distribute its accumulated cash to shareholders. With the current share price below our fair value estimate, we view this corporate purchase as a reasonable use of capital.
That said, our current fair value estimate assumes £800 million of share repurchases over the next two years, so the incremental benefit to our valuation is not enough to merit changing our current fair value estimate of £11.15. Our narrow economic moat rating is unchanged following this announcement.
Rolls-Royce is one of only four firms in the world that can successfully develop and manufacture commercial narrow-body jet engines, a key reason we think the company stands to benefit from sizable competitive advantages in its end markets. That said, we see a few growth headwinds for Rolls-Royce defence spending is coming under pressure globally and the company lacks a presence in the next generation of commercial narrow-body aircraft.
Alliances and joint ventures abound in the commercial aerospace engine market, where a partner on one platform may be a competitor on another. Each firm is fully aware of the others' technologies. Competition, though fierce, provides an adequate return for firms investing in new platforms.
Rolls-Royce's Trent engines have carved positions on a number of major commercial airframes, including the Boeing 787 and Airbus' A380 and A350 platforms. Each of these platforms should produce steady demand for Rolls-Royce in the coming years.