Tag: companies (Page 3 of 5)

Embraer Delivers 1,600th E-Jet to Helvetic Airways

July 8, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Embraer celebrated today the delivery of its 1,600th E-Jet, an E190-E2. Helvetic Airways of Switzerland received the milestone aircraft. Airlines and leasing companies from some 50 countries have added Embraer E-Jets to their fleets since the first-generation jets entered revenue service in 2004. The new, highly fuel-efficient second-generation E-Jets family, the E2s, started flying with airlines in 2018.

“It’s an honor in my new role as President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation to deliver this landmark aircraft. It’s a tremendous milestone in the E-Jets program and in the company’s history,” said Arjan Meijer. “Over the years I have been personally very close to Helvetic and their E-Jets fleet planning project. Everyone at Embraer is extremely proud to see such a renowned airline flying our 1,600th production E-Jet.”

Helvetic Airways is currently transitioning from a fleet of first-generation E-Jets to E2s. The carrier received its first E190-E2 in October 2019 and has added four more since as part of its fleet renewal program. Helvetic flies the airplanes in a 110-seat single-class configuration on domestic and international routes. The carrier has firm orders for 12 E190-E2s and purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2s with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order to 24 E2 aircraft.

“We are especially proud to receive an E2 aircraft in these challenging times for our industry,” adds Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways. “And it’s a genuine privilege to share this special moment with Embraer. We’ve received very positive feedback on the E190-E2, from our passengers and our crews, since we introduced it into our fleet. We couldn’t be happier with the aircraft’s performance. The fuel burn is even lower than expected, which makes the airplane even more environmentally friendly. And we’re looking forward to resuming operations soon – with our milestone E190-E2 as well.”

For nearly two decades, Embraer’s innovative E-Jets family has been transforming commercial aviation. It is the industry’s most successful line of 70-to-150-seat passenger jets designed specifically for this capacity segment. The program has logged in excess of 1,900 orders to date from more than 100 customers. Some 80 airlines currently fly Embraer E-Jets. The global E-Jet fleet has accumulated more than 30 million flight hours, with an average mission completion rate of 99.9%. The versatile airplanes are flying with low-cost, regional and mainline carriers.

The E190-E2 is one of three aircraft in the second-generation E-Jets family. Compared to the first-generation E190, the E190-E2 consumes 17.3% less fuel. This makes it the E2 the most efficient single-aisle aircraft family on the market.

Agreement Between Alstom & Snam for Development of Hydrogen Trains in Italy

June 5, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Alstom, a global leader in integrated solutions for sustainable mobility, and Snam, one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure companies, have signed a five-year agreement to develop hydrogen trains in Italy.

The agreement, after the conclusion of the first phase dedicated to feasibility studies planned in Autumn, aims to develop, already at the beginning of 2021, railway mobility projects including both hydrogen-powered trains and the related technological infrastructure, as well as management and maintenance services.

As part of the agreement, Alstom will manufacture and maintain newly built or converted hydrogen trains, while Snam will develop the infrastructures for production, transport and refuelling.

This co-operation stems from the joint commitment of the two companies on hydrogen: Alstom has launched the Coradia iLint, the first fuel cell train in the world, which has successfully been in service for one year and half on a regional route in Germany, while Snam has been one of the first companies in the world to experiment a 10% hydrogen injection into the natural gas transportation network.

Boeing Terminates Joint Venture Agreement With Embraer

April 27, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Boeing (NYSE: BA) announced today that it has terminated its Master Transaction Agreement (MTA) with Embraer, under which the two companies sought to establish a new level of strategic partnership. The parties had planned to create a joint venture comprising Embraer’s commercial aviation business and a second joint venture to develop new markets for the C-390 Millennium medium airlift and air mobility aircraft.

Under the MTA, April 24, 2020, was the initial termination date, subject to extension by either party if certain conditions were met. Boeing exercised its rights to terminate after Embraer did not satisfy the necessary conditions.

“Boeing has worked diligently over more than two years to finalize its transaction with Embraer. Over the past several months, we had productive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations about unsatisfied MTA conditions. We all aimed to resolve those by the initial termination date, but it didn’t happen,” said Marc Allen, president of Embraer Partnership & Group Operations. “It is deeply disappointing. But we have reached a point where continued negotiation within the framework of the MTA is not going to resolve the outstanding issues.”

The planned partnership between Boeing and Embraer had received unconditional approval from all necessary regulatory authorities, with the exception of the European Commission.

Boeing and Embraer will maintain their existing Master Teaming Agreement, originally signed in 2012 and expanded in 2016, to jointly market and support the C-390 Millennium military aircraft.

Norwegian Air Could Run Out of Cash Unless Debt Plan Approved

April 27, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air <NAS.OL> could run out of cash by mid-May unless its proposed financial rescue plan is approved by creditors and shareholders, the budget carrier warned on Monday.

If approved by bondholders, leasing companies and shareholders, the plan may help Norwegian survive the coronavirus outbreak, which has grounded 95% of its fleet, leaving just 7 aircraft in operation.

But the planned debt-to-equity swap will hand majority ownership of 53.1% to the company’s lessors, while bondholders would own 41.7%, leaving current shareholders with just 5.2%, it said.

The move would allow Norwegian to tap government guarantees of 2.7 billion crowns ($255 million), which are dependent on the company reducing its ratio of debt to equity, and which would come on top of 300 million crowns it has already received.

It is “critical to get access to the state aid package by mid-May before the company runs out of cash,” Norwegian said in a presentation to investors.

Rapid growth has made Norwegian Europe’s third-largest low-cost airline and the biggest foreign carrier serving New York and other major U.S. cities, but with the expansion came debts and liabilities of close to $8 billion by the end of 2019.

Last week, the company reported that four Swedish and Danish subsidiaries had filed for bankruptcy and that it had ended staffing contracts in Europe and the United States, putting some 4,700 jobs at risk.

Norwegian’s shares opened 8% lower on Monday and are down 86% year-to-date.

The company aims to gradually emerge from the COVID-19 crisis with both a short-haul and long-haul network in place, and is targeting a return to normal operations in 2022, it said.

The plan requires backing from bondholders in each of four separate votes planned for April 30, from shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting scheduled for May 4, and from leasing firms.

It maintained plans to raise up to 400 million crowns in cash from owners.

(Editing by Jan Harvey)

FILE PHOTO: A Norwegian Air plane is refuelled at Oslo Gardermoen airport

EasyJet Says Can Ride Out 9 Month Shutdown and Slow Recovery

April 18, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

FILE PHOTO: EasyJet planes parked at Luton airport after the airline grounded its entire fleet

LONDON (Reuters) – EasyJet can survive a nine-month shutdown thanks to its measures to contend with the coronavirus crisis and is planning for a slow recovery, the British airline said on Thursday.

As airlines worldwide battle for survival after lockdowns and travel bans brought the sector to a virtual standstill, EasyJet announced a new fleet plan to manage its emergence from the enforced hibernation.

The UK-based company said it will start to shrink its fleet and the number of planes it operates will not reach pre-crisis levels until 2022, signalling that it does not expect a quick recovery for the industry.

“We’ve been able to adapt ourselves to reduced demand for the next couple of years, then have the flexibility to increase as demand picks up again,” Chief Executive Johan Lundgren told reporters.

The industry is split on how quickly the sector can recover. Lufthansa, plane manufacturers and airline body IATA have warned that it will be a slow process. EasyJet’s bigger low-cost rival Ryanair, meanwhile, has predicted a swift rebound in traffic.

Lundgren said that, while he does not expect the grounding of easyJet’s fleet to last nine months, the company would remain cash-positive even if that were the case and could survive for longer than that by seeking additional funding.

Among the steps it is taking, easyJet is in talks over the sale and leaseback of some planes to leasing companies, with expected proceeds of up to 550 million pounds ($687 million).

“Overall, the company has presented a very credible response to the crisis,” said Goodbody analyst Mark Simpson.

In addition to the deferral of new orders and non-renewal of leases, easyJet said it now plans to sell six aircraft.

The airline, however, has faced calls from its founder and biggest shareholder, Stelios Haji-Ioannou, to terminate its 4.5 billion pound order with Airbus for 107 new jets.

He escalated his row with management on Thursday, issuing a statement saying he planned to call for the removal of Lundgren as well as chairman John Barton at forthcoming meetings. He said Lundgren should not send money to Airbus for planes while running an “aircraft parking lot”.

CASH PILE

Through various funding initiatives, easyJet expects to generate total additional liquidity of about 1.85 billion to 1.95 billion pounds, leading to a notional cash balance of about 3.3 billion pounds.

Given the level of continued market uncertainty, the company said it is not possible to provide guidance for the remainder of the 2020 financial year.

However, it said winter bookings are well ahead of those at the same stage last year, with Lundgren adding that he expects there to be pent-up demand for holidays as people emerge from lockdown.

But travel restrictions are likely to ease slowly and easyJet will have to be flexible, the CEO said. “I don’t think this is going to be a case of let’s just open everything up,” he added.

Measures under consideration include disinfecting aircraft and steps to ensure social distancing on planes.

“We will clearly look to have the middle seat empty as we start,” Lundgren said. “I think that is actually what the customers would like to see.”

EasyJet shares were up 2.2% at 616 pence at 1207 GMT, having lost more than 50% year to date.

($1 = 0.8007 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Kate Holton and David Goodman)

Layoffs in Corporate Australia & New Zealand as Crisis Deepens

April 16, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – The coronavirus outbreak has virtually shut down corporate Australia and New Zealand, forcing companies to throw out their strategic plans and resulting in thousands of layoffs or staff suspensions.

Listed companies in both the countries have already laid off or began considering laying off more than 100,000 people, temporarily or permanently, highlighting the toll on livelihoods as virtual shutdowns take hold.

Ultimately, economists forecast the crisis will more than double unemployment to more than 11%, the highest in three decades.

AIRLINES

* Qantas Airways to place 20,000 workers on leave until at least the end of May.

* Virgin Australia to stand down 8,000 employees until the end of May.

* Air New Zealand to lay off nearly a third of its employees, about 3,500, in the coming months, and said that was a “conservative” assumption.

CASINOS

* Star Entertainment Group says 90% of its workforce, or 9,000 people, will be placed on leave due to mandated casino closures.

* Crown Resorts Ltd stood down about 95% or more than 11,500 of its employees on a full or temporary basis as gaming and other non-essential services at its resorts in Melbourne and Perth were suspended.

* SkyCity Entertainment Group has laid off or furloughed at least 1,100 of its staff across Australia and New Zealand.

RETAIL

* Department store operator Myer Holdings will temporarily lay off 10,000 of its staff without pay.

* Kathmandu Holdings Ltd, the outdoor apparel retailer that owns Rip Curl, said most of its global stores were closed and almost all its staff in Australia will be stood down for four weeks without pay. It has around 4,000 employees globally.

* Home ware retailer Smiths City Group Ltd stands down almost all of its 465 employees on 80% of their salary.

* Retail Food Group will stand down or reduce the working hours of the majority of its 500 employees.

* Premier Investments, owner of Smiggle, Just Jeans and chains, is standing down 9,000 employees, most without pay

* Jeweller Michael Hill International is putting staff on leave in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The company employs about 2,500.

* Fashion retailer Mosaic Brands is standing down 6,800 due to store closures.

* Footwear retailer Accent Group stands down all its retail employees and most support staff for four weeks without pay. The company reportedly employs 5,700.

HOSPITALITY

* Pub and hotel operator Redcape Hotel Group will cut most permanent staff. It employs 800.

* ALH Group, the pubs and hotels group majority-owned by Woolworths, will stand down about 8,000 staff.

TRAVEL AGENTS

* Flight Centre is cutting or putting on leave a third of its 20,000 staff.

* Helloworld Travel lays off 275 people and temporarily stands two-thirds of its 1,800 workforce until the end of May.

HEALTH AND EXERCISE

* Viva Leisure lays off more than 90% of its 2,200 workforce.

* Dental group Abano Healthcare will stand down majority of its 2,300 employees at its operations in Australia and New Zealand.

HIRING:

On the other hand, some companies are hiring under the new circumstances.

* Australia’s biggest supermarket chain Woolworths to hire 20,000 in the next month. Some of the new hires will be those re-deployed from its the pubs and hotels business, ALH Group. Woolworths also plans to offer short-term roles to 5,000 Qantas employees put on leave.

* Coles has added 7,000 people to its ranks, and said it plans to hire another 5,000 to meet increasing demand at its supermarkets and liquor stores.

* Australia’s biggest telecom company Telstra will freeze a 6,000-employee cull and hire 1,000 due to growing volumes at call centres.

* BHP Group, the world’s biggest miner, says it will hire 1,500 temporary workers, some to be offered permanent roles after six months.

(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan and Anushka Trivedi in Bengaluru; Editing by Byron Kaye, Shounak Dasgupta and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

Boeing Suppliers Hexcel & Woodward Scrap Merger Plan

April 7, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

(Reuters) – Boeing Co suppliers Hexcel Corp and Woodward Inc on Monday called off their planned all-stock merger as widespread travel bans to curb the coronavirus pummels demand in the aerospace sector.

The companies, which make and supply aircraft parts, had agreed to a merger in January in a $6.4 billion deal.

“Although we are disappointed with this outcome, we are confident this is the right decision for our customers, our shareholders, and our employees,” the companies said in a joint statement.

The market rout triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting economic downturn has thrown a wrench into corporate deal making. Last month U.S. printer maker Xerox Holdings Corp walked away from its $35 billion hostile cash-and-stock bid for HP Inc.

Boeing, which halted the production of its grounded 737 MAX aircraft in January, said on Sunday it would extend the suspension of production at its Washington state facilities until further notice.

Boeing is Hexcel’s second-biggest customer, accounting for a quarter of the company’s annual sales. Hexcel also supplies Airbus SE.

Woodward gets about 15% of its annual sales from Boeing, its biggest customer.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Devika Syamnath)

Nova Group Makes Space for Growth Plan

March 24, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Global defence company Nova Group is maintaining its projections of over $200 million revenue this financial year with longer-term goals to continue expanding its global reach. A newer focus on space is continuing to diversify the portfolio of the South Australian headquartered company that has invested more than $20 million on eight acquisitions across the globe to cement its footprint.

In South Australia, the company’s new Nova IGS Network is providing space ground connectivity for small satellite operators with the site now being used by international clients including Tyvak USA and RBC USA. Nova is also in talks with an Italian-based space company wanting to expand its presence in Australia.

Based on a 21 hectare site in Peterborough in South Australia’s mid north, the site is used to track low earth orbit satellites through customer’s own terminals and Nova has plans to attract further European companies over upcoming years. “Nova is also planning to utilise the site as a ground station test bed for emerging Space 2.0 technologies and support future defence projects,” a spokesman said. “Peterborough provides the vital ground segment element in order to allow satellite operators to downlink/download their data.”

Nova Group is marking 20 years in business, with Nova Systems founded by Jim Whalley and Peter Nikoloff and originally offering flight-testing services in South Australia’s capital city of Adelaide. It has since grown to having 600 employees working on projects around the world including with the Australian Defence Force, United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, Royal Norwegian Air Force and the Republic of Singapore Air Force. “With a solid foundation in the defence markets in Australia and the UK, and a footprint in space, transport and energy, I am very proud to be exporting Australian capability and know-how to the world and look forward to positioning to our next growth phase,” Whalley said. Nova was recently awarded one of four industry leads in the Major Service Provider consortium providing integrated support contracts to the Australia Defence Force over the next 10 years.

HNA Group Rises After Company Asks Chinese Government for Help

March 1, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

BEIJING/SHANGHAI, March 2 (Reuters) – Shares in HNA Group-controlled companies rose on Monday after the Chinese aviation and tourism conglomerate said it had asked the government to help it resolve liquidity risk caused by the coronavirus outbreak which has put heavy pressure on the airline industry.

HNA directly owns or holds stakes in a number of local Chinese carriers, which have suffered in recent weeks from widespread flight cancellations and plummeting demand.

Hainan Airlines Holding Co Ltd, the flagship of HNA Group Co Ltd, rose by over 3% by 0400 GMT, while HNA Technology Investments Holdings Ltd surged nearly 40%.

Other units such as HNA Investment Group Co Ltd and HNA Technology Co Ltd also saw their prices climb.

HNA Group said on Saturday it had asked the Hainan provincial government to lead a working group as it was not able to deal with the liquidity risk itself.

The group had acknowledged liquidity issues before the coronavirus outbreak started. In December, Chairman Chen Feng said HNA had faced cash flow shortage that forced it to delay salary payments.

Its Saturday announcement has driven heavy discussion in China on whether there will be a carving up of its assets.

Two weeks ago, HNA-related shares likewise rose on a media report that said China’s government planned to take over the debt-laden conglomerate.

“The implementation of a government acquisition would be challenging as HNA’s structure is complex,” Warut Promboon, head of credit research at Bondcritic, said on Monday. “Overall, it is credit positive. HNA has grown too fast and is too big that it needs to be broken down. The restructuring will be best under the state support.”

Some Exhibitors Drop Out of Singapore Airshow Due to Coronavirus

February 2, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Textron, Gulfstream no longer attending
Organisers expect reduction in exhibitors, visitors
South Korea’s air force reviewing participation

By Jamie Freed and Allison Lampert

SYDNEY/MONTREAL, Feb 3 (Reuters) – Some aerospace companies including business jet manufacturers Textron Inc and General Dynamics Corp’s Gulfstream division said they no longer planned to attend the Singapore Airshow due to the new coronavirus epidemic.

The trade portion of Asia’s biggest airshow, held every two years, is set to begin on Feb. 11 under the shadow of the fast-spreading virus that has prompted Singapore to deny entry to any non-resident with a recent history of travel to China, where the virus originated.

The death toll from the coronavirus has risen to 361 in China, bringing the number of confirmed infections to 17,205 in the country. The flu-like virus, which can be transmitted from person to person, has spread to more than two dozen other nations and regions.

Experia Events, the organiser of the Singapore Airshow, said last week the show would continue as planned, but the government measures meant it would “undoubtedly see a reduction in terms of the number of expected exhibitors and visitors this year”.

The organiser said there would be doctors and medics on standby to attend to visitors who were feeling unwell.

In 2018, there were 54,000 trade attendees from 147 countries and 1,062 participating companies who come to network, examine products and sign deals covering commercial aviation, defence, maintenance and repair operations and business jets.

Typically, it is not a major show for commercial plane orders but talks during the show can set the stage for deals that are completed later in the year.

Boeing, Airbus and Lockheed Martin Corp , among the biggest exhibitors, said they still planned to attend the show.

Textron and Gulfstream said their decision to not attend was a precautionary measure to protect the health of employees.

Russian aerospace group Rostec plans to send a reduced delegation to the show, Russian media reported. Rostec did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

A spokesman for South Korea’s Air Force said on Monday it was reviewing whether to participate in the Singapore Airshow, but it had not made a final decision.

The deputy administrator of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, Li Jian, is no longer listed as a speaker at a pre-show leadership conference on Feb. 10.

Commercial Aircraft Corp of China (COMAC), which is developing the C919 narrowbody jet, had been due to attend the show before the travel ban was announced.

COMAC did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Sydney and Allison Lampert in Montreal; additional reporting by Anshuman Daga in Singapore, Joyce Lee in Seoul and Brenda Goh in Shanghai; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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