Engineering group GKN (www.gkn.com) reports that “strong business” at its civil aerospace and automotive divisions has continued to drive growth.

However, the Redditch-based group’s land-systems division continues to be a drag on the business due to declining sales in the agricultural sector. The group’s results for 2016 show sales up 22% to £9,414 million and pre-tax profits up 12% to £678 million.

GKN Aerospace showed strong headline sales growth, reflecting a full year of ownership of Dutch business Fokker, while organic growth was above the market forecast.

Organic sales growth in commercial aerospace was up 3%, partially offset by a 2% decline in the military sector. At Birmingham-based GKN Driveline, there was organic sales growth of 6%, due to an increase in global automotive production.

Nigel Stein, chief executive of GKN, said: “This is a good set of results, with GKN continuing to make underlying progress in line with our expectations.

“We performed well against our key markets, overcoming some demand weakness and demonstrating once again the strength of our businesses and our technology.

“Strategically, we made good progress, including smoothly integrating Fokker and completing the disposal of Stromag — evidence of our sharper focus on capital allocation towards the aerospace and automotive markets.

“We expect 2017 to be another year of growth, helped by the actions taken in 2016 and our constant focus on continuous improvement.”