Rolls Royce tops FTSE 100

Optimism at Rolls-Royce is on the increase as the company saw a jump in its share price.

The engineering giant is leading the FTSE 100 after a 4.5 per cent increase in share price during early trading on Wednesday (April 22nd). The index itself edged up 0.36 per cent, or 25 points, with even Tesco seeing shares grow by 0.5 per cent despite posting the biggest loss in its 100-year history.

Rolls-Royce shares were boosted after the company announced the appointment of a new chief executive. Warren East has been selected as the successor to John Rishton who has announced his decision to retire on July 2nd. Mr East's appointment is the result of an extensive international search, according to the company.

The new chief executive has previously held a similar position at ARM Holding between 2001 and 2013. He was an integral part of making the firm into one of the world's leading developers of semi-conductors. He left in January 2014 to become a non-executive director of Rolls-Royce.

Ian Davis, chairman of Rolls-Royce, welcomed the appointment and said: "Warren [East] has an outstanding record as chief executive of ARM Holdings. He is an engineer by training; he has a deep understanding of technology and of developing long-term partnerships.

"He has proven strategic and leadership skills in a global business and a strong record of value creation."

Increased car sales

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has been enjoying a boost in sales in the past 12 months. The company announced in January that it has recorded a 12 per cent increase in sales during 2014 despite a cut in jobs from the holding company.

During this period the luxury car maker sold 4,063 vehicles which represented record figures for the fifth year in a row. However, it was the first time in its history that it had passed the 4,000 mark.