Nov 6 (Reuters) – Aircastle Ltd said on Wednesday Japan’s Marubeni Corp and Mizuho Leasing Co Ltd had offered to buy the aircraft lessor in a deal valued at $2.4 billion, ending a nearly two-week long strategic review of its business.
Shares of the company rose 16% to trade in line with the offer price of $32 per share. Marubeni, the company’s largest shareholder, has a 29% stake in Aircastle as of Oct. 23 that is currently valued at about $600 million.
Aircastle, which owned and managed 277 aircraft in 48 countries as of Sept. 30, counts American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and United Airlines among its customers.
Airline bankruptcies have increased this year at the fastest ever rate, led by the collapse of India’s Jet Airways, British travel group Thomas Cook and Avianca of Brazil, adding pressure on aircraft leasing companies.
Fitch Ratings said in September that it expects the sector to worsen in the medium term with a potential rise in airline bankruptcies, further aircraft repossessions and increased financing costs. (http://bit.ly/2qrjaG5)
The deal, which is valued at $7.4 billion including debt, is expected to close in the first half of 2020, Aircastle said.
Citigroup Global Markets Inc will serve as financial adviser to Aircastle.
(Reporting by Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Anil D’Silva)
Nov 4 (Reuters) – Philippines’ Cebu Air Inc has finalised the purchase of 16 long-range Airbus A330 neo jets worth $4.8 billion at list prices, the airline said on Monday.
The budget carrier, which operates 74 aircraft, mostly Airbus A320s, under the brand Cebu Pacific, is turning to larger and fuel-efficient jets for expansion, despite limited slots at the main gateway in the Philippine capital.
Scheduled to be delivered between 2021 and 2024, the 16 A330neo aircraft will be deployed on routes in the Philippines, Asia, Australia and the Middle East, Cebu Air said in a statement.
Reuters first reported that Cebu Air was close to buying A330neo or Boeing 787 aircraft in May.
In June, Cebu Air signed a signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire 16 A330neos, 10 A321XLRs and five A320neos, worth about $6 billion in total at list prices, during the Paris Air Show.
The new Airbus aircraft will cut fuel emissions and costs per seat, said Cebu Air Chief Executive Lance Gokongwei, adding that it would also help maximise seating capacity and the airline’s valuable slots in Manila and other major Asian cities.
(Reporting by Neil Jerome Morales; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
U.S. Air Force F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters from the 58th Fighter Squadron, 33rd Fighter Wing, Eglin AFB, Fla. perform an aerial refueling mission with a KC-135 Stratotanker from the 336th Air Refueling Squadron from March ARB, Calif., May 14, 2013 off the coast of Northwest Florida. The 33rd Fighter Wing is a joint graduate flying and maintenance training wing that trains Air Force, Marine, Navy and international partner operators and maintainers of the F-35 Lightning II. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Donald R. Allen/Released)
FORT WORTH, Texas, Oct. 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — The F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) finalized a $34 billion agreement for the production and delivery of 478 F-35s at the lowest aircraft price during the history of the Program. This contract includes all U.S., International Partners and Foreign Military Sales aircraft in Lots 12, 13 and 14.
In the agreement, the F-35 Enterprise meets and exceeds its long-stated cost reduction targets for each variant – and the F-35A unit price, including aircraft and engine, is now below $80 million in both Lot 13 and Lot 14, the F-35A unit cost represents an estimated overall 12.8 percent reduction from Lot 11 costs for the conventional landing variant, and an average of 12.7 percent savings across all three variants from Lot 11 to 14.
“Driving down cost is critical to the success of this program. I am excited that the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin have agreed on this landmark three-lot deal. This agreement achieves an average 12.7 percent cost reduction across all three variants and gets us below $80 million for a USAF F-35A by Lot 13 – one lot earlier than planned,” said Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 Program Executive Officer. “This $34 billion agreement is a truly historic milestone for the F-35 Enterprise.”
The agreement includes 291 aircraft for the U.S. Services, 127 for F-35 International Partners, and 60 for F-35 Foreign Military Sales customers. Price details include:
“With smart acquisition strategies, strong government-industry partnership and a relentless focus on quality and cost reduction, the F-35 Enterprise has successfully reduced procurement costs of the 5th Generation F-35 to equal or less than 4th Generation legacy aircraft,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin, F-35 Program vice president and general manager. “With the F-35A unit cost now below $80 millionin Lot 13, we were able to exceed our long-standing cost reduction commitment one year earlier than planned.”
The sub $80 million unit recurring flyaway cost for an F-35 represents an integrated acquisition price for the 5th Generation Weapon System. With embedded sensors and targeting pods, this F-35 unit price includes items that add additional procurement and sustainment costs to legacy 4th Generation aircraft.
Program Progress
With more than 450 aircraft operating from 19 bases around the globe, the F-35 is playing a critical role in today’s global security environment. More than 910 pilots and 8,350 maintainers have been trained, and the F-35 fleet has surpassed more than 220,000 cumulative flight hours. Eight nations have F-35s operating from a base on their home soil and seven Services have declared Initial Operating Capability.
In addition to strengthening global security and partnerships, the F-35 provides economic stability to the U.S. and International Partners by creating jobs, commerce and security, and contributing to the global trade balance. The F-35 is built by thousands of men and women in America and around the world. With more than 1,400 suppliers in 46 states and Puerto Rico, the F-35 Program supports more than 220,000 direct and indirect jobs in the U.S. alone. The Program also includes more than 100 international suppliers, creating or sustaining thousands of jobs.
Greg Foran, president and CEO of Walmart U.S., smiles after speaking about the company’s Black Friday plans at a Walmart store in Secaucus, New Jersey
(Reuters) – Air New Zealand Ltd <ANZLY> named Walmart U.S. boss Greg Foran as its new chief executive on Friday, bringing him back home at a time the airline is trying to control costs in a lower-growth environment.
New Zealand-born Foran is credited with turning around Walmart Inc’s <WMT.N> U.S. business as its president and CEO since 2014, with the unit reporting 20 quarters of comparable sales growth under his leadership.
Air New Zealand Chairman Therese Walsh said the carrier was “thrilled to have attracted a world class Kiwi back home.”
“Greg has an impeccable track record in delivering strong commercial performance, outstanding customer focus and in building teams that can take a business to the next level,” Walsh said in a statement.
Grant Williamson, investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch, said snagging Foran was a coup for the carrier.
“In the short term, it’s not going to have a major impact on earnings, there’s bigger things moving in the background like oil prices and global growth,” Williamson said. Air New Zealand shares were marginally higher at NZ$2.85 on Friday.
“But in terms of someone to have a steady hand on the wheel for Air New Zealand going forward, I don’t think they could do much better,” Williamson added.
Foran, who boosted Walmart’s sales by focusing on improving existing stores to keep costs and prices low, said he looked forward to building on Air New Zealand’s competitive advantage in customer focus and care.
The airline is known overseas for its quirky safety videos and consistently ranks highly in global airline customer surveys.
Foran will join Air New Zealand in the first quarter of next year, replacing Christopher Luxon who departed last month after seven years in the role. Luxon, a former Unilever executive, had also joined the airline after a career in fast-moving consumer goods.
During Luxon’s tenure, the carrier was recognised globally as an industry leader for its focus on innovation, environmental sustainability and diversity in hiring.
However, it has more recently faced challenges from a higher fuel bill and weak travel demand, leading the national carrier to report a 31% fall in annual profit in August.
Air New Zealand Chief Revenue Officer Cam Wallace, who had been an internal contender for the top job, according to sources with knowledge of the matter, welcomed the appointment on Twitter.
Foran will remain at Walmart until Jan. 31, when he will be replaced by the head of its Sam’s Club warehouse chain, John Furner.
“While we’ve been highly impressed with Mr. Furner’s work at Sam’s Club… he does admittedly have big shoes to fill,” said a note from Jefferies Group LLC <JEF.N>. “We can’t help but expect the market to react negatively to today’s news.”
(Reporting by Jamie Freed in Singapore and Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington; Editing by Sandra Maler and Jane Wardell)
German flag carrier Lufthansa and German national railway Deutsche Bahn have reached agreement on a long-festering dispute concerning an air cargo cartel.
The settlement was announced Aug. 26, although details are being kept confidential by mutual agreement.
The settlement ends a dispute before the Cologne regional court that has been ongoing since 2013.
Settling parties are DB Barnsdale, a wholly owned subsidiary of Deutsche Bahn, and Lufthansa Group member companies Lufthansa Cargo, Swiss International Air Lines and Deutsche Lufthansa.
EFFECTIVE THROUGH MAY 2020, CONTRACTED SERVICES WILL TAKE PLACE IN MESA, ARIZONA AND AFGHANISTAN
MD Helicopters, Inc (MDHI) announced today that the company has been awarded a $50.4 million Firm Fixed Price contract modification for logistics support of the MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopter fleet currently in service with the Afghan Air Force (AAF). MD Helicopters has provided comprehensive contractor logistics support (CLS) services to the Afghan Air Force since the first MD 530F training aircraft arrived in Afghanistan in 2011.
The current CLS contract extension provides for continuous CONUS and OCONUS maintenance, on-the-job training, and support services, including spares support, for all MD 530F Cayuse Warrior helicopters operated by the Afghan Air Force. Effective September 1, 2019, the Period of Performance for the new contract, with all options exercised, runs through May 31, 2020.
The AAF began operating the MD 530F as a primary rotary wing training aircraft in 2011. In 2014, in response to an urgent and compelling need within the region, MDHI was contracted to arm and weaponize the proven single engine training aircraft, delivering expanded capabilities for armed escort, scout attack and close air attack operations. Nine months later, MDHI delivered the first of a robust fleet of 60 MD 530F Cayuse Warrior light scout attack helicopters.
Currently, MDHI supports all mission-ready MD 530F Cayuse Warrior aircraft in Afghanistan. The final 5 units associated with the 2017 30-unit Delivery Order issued against MDHI’s $1.4 Billion IDIQ contract are set for on-time delivery later this year.
While we are impatiently waiting for Tesla, Rivian, and others to bring their electric pickup trucks to market here in North America, China is already getting some.
Nissan is launching a new electric pickup truck through a Dongfeng joint venture in China: the Dongfeng Rich 6 EV.
With its aggressive zero-emission mandate, China has forced automakers to accelerate their deployment of all-electric vehicles in the country.
Several of them are now making EVs just for the Chinese market.
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Tesla shares extended their recent sell-off on Wednesday after Citi cut its price target on the struggling electric car maker, leaving buyers of its recent share offer, including Chief Executive Elon Musk, $175 million in the hole.
Tesla’s stock dropped 5.5% to $193.88, on track to close below $200 for the first time since late 2016. It has lost a fifth of its value since the company sold a $1.84 billion convertible bond and almost $900 million of stock on May 2 to raise fresh capital and give it more time to stop losing money.
Citi analyst Itay Michaeli, who has a “sell” rating on Tesla, cut his price target to $191 from $238. He pointed to a an email Musk sent to employees last week, telling them he would increase cost-cutting, and that the $2.7 billion in recently raised capital would give Tesla just 10 months to break even at the rate it burned cash in the first quarter.
“The recent reported internal memo, which seemingly called into question prior guidance, didn’t help the risk/reward calculus. The implications can be serious, since an automaker’s balance sheet is always subject to the confidence ‘spiral’ risk,” Michaeli wrote in a client note.
Consumer Reports warned on Wednesday that a recent update to Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance software does not work well and could be unsafe.
“It doesn’t appear to react to brake lights or turn signals, it can’t anticipate what other drivers will do, and as a result, you constantly have to be one step ahead of it,” Jake Fisher, Consumer Reports’ senior director of auto testing, said in a news release.
Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment. On April 22, Musk told investors that driverless Tesla “robotaxis” would be available in some U.S. markets next year, a claim met by skepticism by some self-driving experts.
UPPING HIS STAKE
Musk is battling to convince investors that demand remains high for the Model 3, the sedan targeted to propel Tesla to sustainable profit, and that it can be delivered efficiently and swiftly to customers around the world. Tesla lost $702 million in the first quarter and warned that profit would be delayed until the latter half of the year.
On Monday, Musk exercised options to buy 175,000 Tesla shares at $31.17 per share, increasing his indirect stake in the company to 34,102,560 shares, according to a filing. With Tesla’s stock down 41% year to date, Musk’s shares, including 102,880 he bought in this month’s capital raise, were worth $6.6 billion on Wednesday.
Tesla’s debt has stalled at lows hit earlier this week. Its recently issued convertible bond due in 2024 priced at 89.09 cents on the dollar, a record low. Its $1.8 billion junk bond traded at 82.5 cents on the dollar, slightly up from the all-time lows it hit on Monday and Tuesday.
The cost to insure Tesla’s debt, as measured by its credit default swap, edged up to roughly 28% of the face value of Tesla’s 2025 bond, from 27.6 % the day before.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich; additional reporting by Kate Duguid in New York and Vibhuti Sharma in Bengalaru; editing by Nick Zieminski and Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: A Union Pacific rail car is parked at a Burlington National Santa Fe (BNSF) train yard in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 10, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren
(Reuters) – Union Pacific Corp on Thursday reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit, as the U.S. railroad raised prices, helping offset the impact of severe winter weather and record flooding that damaged rails in the Midwest.
Shares rose 2.7 percent to $173.80 in premarket trading.
Union Pacific’s operating ratio, a measure of operating expenses as a percentage of revenue and a key metric for Wall Street, increased 1 point to 63.6 percent from a year ago.
A lower ratio means more efficiency and higher profitability.
Total operating revenue fell to $5.4 billion from $5.5 billion.
The Omaha, Nebraska-based company’s net income rose to $1.4 billion, or $1.93 per share, in the first-quarter ended March 31 from $1.31 billion, or $1.68 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts, on average, expected a profit of $1.89 per share and revenue of $5.50 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Union Pacific and Berkshire Hathaway-owned BNSF are the largest U.S. freight rail operators with an annual revenue of more than $20 billion each.
(Reporting by Rachit Vats in Bengaluru and Lisa Baertlein in Los Angeles; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)
(Reuters)
– Alphabet Inc’s Google on Wednesday raised the monthly membership
price of its YouTube TV online service by 25 percent to $49.99, while
adding channels such as Discovery, Animal Planet and TLC.
The
second price rise in nearly 14 months comes as YouTube expands its
offering to better compete with a growing number of services, including
Dish Network Corp’s Sling TV, AT&T’s DirecTV Now and Hulu, which are
vying to attract viewers cancelling cable subscriptions, or cord
cutting.
Google had raised the price of YouTube TV from $35 to $40 in February last year.
The
cost for competing services such as Hulu’s offering with more than 60
channels is $44.99 per month, while its library of shows and movies
costs an additional $5.99.
YouTube
TV will be adding eight new channels, including the Travel Channel,
HGTV and Food Network, to take the total number of networks to more than
70.
The
new price takes effect from April 10 for new members, while the revised
fee for existing subscribers will come into force after May 13, it said
in a blog post.
The price for members billed through Apple will be $54.99 per month, it added.
(Reporting by Arjun Panchadar in Bengaluru; Editing by James Emmanuel)
