(Alliance News) - Senior PLC on Friday said first-quarter trading was in line with expectations with a strong performance in its Aerospace unit offsetting a slight decline in Flexonics.

The Hertfordshire, England-based auto and aircraft components and systems manufacturer said revenue rose 7% in the first quarter from the year before on a constant-currency basis.

Aerospace revenue grew by 12% on-year driven by growth in commercial aerospace.

In Flexonics, Senior noted good growth in downstream oil and gas and nuclear, with land vehicle sales remaining resilient. But, as previously flagged, Senior anticipates a rebalancing of inventory by upstream oil and gas customers in 2024. This has led to Flexonics revenue reducing 2% from a year before in the quarter.

Overall, the board anticipates "good growth" for 2024 in line with its expectations.

Senior said it had mitigated the impact of lower 737 MAX production with growth in other business.

"Regarding the 737 MAX, we have agreed sensible schedules with Boeing and other customers that take into account ongoing production demand, and current customer inventory levels," the company stated.

Boeing Co has slowed the production of its 737 Max line as it faces federal scrutiny for its production and quality control processes.

Boeing has been dogged by safety concerns since an Air Alaska flight was forced to make an emergency landing after suffering a blowout on a panel on the jet fuselage in January.

On Thursday, Senior said it has signed a five-year extension to its contract with Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc for aircraft components.

Spirit is a Kansas, US manufacturer for aero structures.

Senior said the deal is for the supply of large diameter precision formed and machined structural components for Boeing aircraft programmes.

The contract extension will commence in January 2026, and is valued at approximately USD130 million over the five-year period.

Shares in Senior were up 0.9% to 165.27 pence in London on Friday.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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