London: Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc’s engine-durability crisis worsened as the company revealed it has detected new issues that will require extra repair shop visits on a further batch of turbines that power Boeing Co.’s 787 airliner.

The glitch concerns the intermediate pressure compressor on a “small number” of Package B Trent 1000 engines for the Boeing plane, London-based Rolls-Royce said in a statement Monday. The shares fell as much as 2.2 per cent.

Following an agreement with the US manufacturer and regulators, some 166 engines that are potentially affected will undergo a one-time inspection to assess the extent of the problem, Rolls said. Package B turbines have been in service since 2012, and evidence of wear has been detected on “high life” examples, it added.

While the check-up visits will incur “some additional cost,” Rolls-Royce stood by its 2018 free cash-flow estimate of £450 million (Dh2.22 billion; $604 million), plus or minus £100 million. The reiteration takes into account increased servicing of Package C engines, where the glitch was originally detected, as well as mitigating actions being taken across the group, the company said.

Failed inspections

About 80 per cent of the Package C engine version have undergone initial checks for cracking or signs of wear and tear on turbine blades, a person with knowledge of the issue has said. Just under a third of those engines failed the initial inspections required by regulators for planes that fly more than 2 hours and 20 minutes from the nearest diversionary airport.

Chief Executive Officer Warren East has said Rolls-Royce will reduce discretionary spending to offset the additional funds needed for overhauls and to keep to a key target of reaching £1 billion in free cash flow by 2020.

The engine maker is due to unveil a new restructuring plan authored by turnaround consultant Alvarez & Marsal at a capital markets day this week.

The engine maker is set to slash 4,000 jobs as part of the plan in a bid to cut costs and increase profits, the Sunday Times reported, without saying where it got the information. The cull could concern among middle management and back-office staff. The company declined to comment on details.

The shares fell 0.9 per cent to 827.60 pence at 8:20am in London, giving a market value of 15.4 billion euros (Dh66.6 billion).

— Bloomberg