British car and plane parts maker GKN said first-half profit rose by a third, driven by strong growth at its automotive business on the back of robust luxury car sales.
The FTSE100 company on Tuesday said group pre-tax profit rose 33 percent to GBP£266 million (USD$ million) in the six months to the end of June, while revenues rose 16 percent to GBP£3.46 billion.
The company said its aerospace unit, which makes airframes for Airbus and Boeing, delivered an 8 percent rise in profit during the period, helped by the ramp-up of several civil aerospace programmes, which have offset falling military sales.
Europe's Airbus and US rival Boeing are ramping up output to meet a surge in demand for fuel-saving jets and are targeting more than 1,100 deliveries this year, in response to growing demand from airlines for new fuel-efficient planes.
Airbus last week announced a three-month delay to the A350 following a glitch in wing production.
"On the A350 we have overcome difficulties and are doing well," said Stein. "We are able to satisfy Airbus' demand on the A350. The effect is minimal in terms of the slight delay they announced last week and I don't think the financial impact will be large."
