WORKERS at Rolls-Royce’s Barnoldswick plants have been reassured that multi-million investment in their future is unaffected by the company’s record loss.

The engine-maker slumped into the red by £4.64billion after being hit by the pound’s post-Brexit plunge and a £671million bill from a corruption scandal.

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On an underlying basis, it reported pre-tax profits of £813m for 2016 compared to £1.4b in 2015.

The company’s chief executive, Warren East, said the investment in the future, notably in the technology for the new generation of Trent aero-engines at Barnoldswick, was now the firm’s key priority.

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson, vice chairman of the all-party Parliamentary Aerospace Group, said he was confident the Bankfield and Ghyll Brow plants, which employ more than 1,000 people, were in a prime place to benefit from Rolls-Royce’s transformation plan.

Mr East said: “As I set out in November last year, it is now time to look further ahead.

“Our focus is turning towards the group’s long-term goals.

“In the meantime, we will continue to focus on our key milestones.

“In civil aerospace, we need to introduce our new Trent engines and successfully deliver the ramp up in engine production.

“At the same time we must ensure our wide ranging business transformation programme delivers the full benefits expected.”

The company’s annual report highlights the key role of its East Lancashire operation in a section headlined ‘Investing in new aerospace supply chain capabilities to help drive operational excellence’.

It said: “The construction of a £50m extension to our Wide Chord Fan Blade facility in Barnoldswick, UK, started in December.

“The expanded facility will be able to manufacture 6,000 large Trent fan blades a year, almost twice its current capacity.

“We also announced the creation of a Centre of Excellence in Structures and Transmissions at the same site.

“The new centre, supported by £20m of investment, will manufacture many of the complex structures that feature in all Rolls-Royce aero-engines.”

A Rolls-Royce spokesman said: “We are investing more than £1.2b a year in research and development for the future at the moment which affected our figures.

“This includes at Barnoldswick where the spending is crucial to the ‘ramp up in engine production’ highlighted by our chief executive.

“The investment in this plant is one of the key milestones Mr East referred to.”

Mr Stephenson said ‘despite the losses, Rolls-Royce is in a good place going forward’.

He said: “The company is investing heavily in research and development, including millions in the Barnoldswick plants.

“The chief executive made clear the East Lancashire investment in East Lancashire is a crucial part of its transformation plan and the progress of the new XWB Trent engines.”

Rolls Royce said the record pre-tax loss for 2016 came after it was forced to make a £4.4 billion write-down from the collapse of the pound since the Brexit vote, as well as its £671 million penalty to settle bribery allegations.

Rolls will pay the £671 million fine over five years, with a £293 million payment this year, but has taken the full cost as an impairment charge against 2016 profits.