Rolls-Royce has agreed an engine maintenance deal with Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic.

The aerospace group, which employs 350 people at a factory in Sunderland, said it had signed a 12-year agreement with Virgin to service Rolls' Derby-made Trent engines on the airline's fleet of long-range Airbus jets. It did not disclose the value.

The so-called TotalCare contract covers maintenance of Trent 500 engines on 15 of Virgin's four-engined A340-600 jets. Rolls already services Trent engines on ten other aircraft in Virgin's A340 fleet.

Managing director of Rolls' airlines business Charles Cuddington said: "This builds on our existing relationship with Virgin Atlantic, the Trent 500's launch customer, by increasing the level of service we are giving the airline."

Growth in Rolls' engine maintenance business is expected to contribute to an 18 per cent rise in its annual pre-tax profits to £336m today.

Maintenance deals tend to be more popular with Rolls' investors than new engine orders because they provide guaranteed long-term revenue.

With airline companies buying more aircraft, engine orders and maintenance work on engines already in use are likely to continue to boost Rolls' profits this year, analysts said.