MILAN (Reuters) – Luxury carmaker Ferrari <RACE> said on Friday it would extend the shutdown of its two Italian plants and reopen on April 14, provided it had supplies, and update 2020 forecasts in May when it releases its first-quarter earnings.
Ferrari this month closed factories in Maranello and Modena, in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna, for two weeks until March 27 in a response to the coronavirus outbreak and a shortage of parts.
Investment firm Exor <EXXRF>, which controls Ferrari, on Wednesday said that current plant closures at Ferrari as well as at other controlled companies Fiat Chrysler <FCAU> and CNH Industrial <CNHI>, though temporary, might continue.
Ferrari – which cited “the huge uncertainty and lack of predictability that the COVID-19 has created” – said it would continue to cover all days of absence for those employees who could not work remotely.
The company added it would give further financial guidance during a conference call on its first-quarter earnings, scheduled for May 4.
In February, Ferrari said it planned its adjusted core profit to increase to between 1.38-1.43 billion euros this year, compared to a previous guidance of over 1.3 billion euros.
Ferrari said on Friday it remained confident that it would “continue to create value for all stakeholders beyond the near-term uncertainties”.
(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Nick Macfie)
A step-change acquisition to address the ever-increasing demand for sustainable mobility
Excellent strategic rationale bringing to Alstom: – Strong commercial and product complementarities – Strengthened product lines and strategic industrial capacity – Leading portfolio offering and R&D capabilities
Acquisition price from €5.8bn to €6.2bn
CDPQ to become the largest shareholder of Alstom with c.18% of the capital
Alstom announces today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bombardier Inc. and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (“CDPQ”) in view of the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation. Post-transaction, Alstom will have a backlog of around €75bn and revenues around €15.5bn. The price for the acquisition of 100% of Bombardier Transportation shares will be €5.8bn to €6.2bn which will be paid via a mix of cash and new Alstom shares. CDPQ will reinvest c.€2bn corresponding to 100% of cash proceeds to be received from the sale of its stake in Bombardier Transportation and further invest €0.7bn in Alstom, outlining its strong belief in the strategic rationale and value creation potential of the combination.
“I’m very proud to announce the acquisition of Bombardier Transportation, which is a unique opportunity to strengthen our global position on the booming mobility market. This acquisition will improve our global reach and our ability to respond to the ever-increasing need for sustainable mobility. Bombardier Transportation will bring to Alstom complementary geographical presence and industrial footprint in growing markets, as well as additional technological platforms. It will significantly increase our innovation capabilities to lead smart and green innovation. We will be thrilled to welcome all the talent and energy of Bombardier Transportation employees. We are deeply committed to step up the turnaround of Bombardier Transportation activities and deliver significant value to all stakeholders, particularly our customers. We will also further develop Bombardier Transportation’s historical presence in Québec, drawing on Québec’s well-established strengths in innovation and sustainable mobility. We are pleased to welcome CDPQ as a new long-term shareholder. CDPQ is fully supportive of the transaction and Alstom’s strategy.” said Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chairman and CEO of Alstom.
A step-change acquisition
Alstom and Bombardier operate in a very positive market environment with passenger traffic expected to grow between 3% to 5% annually over the 2015-2025 period and global rail OEM market expected to achieve a +3.0% CAGR between 2021-2023. The dynamic is driven by urbanisation trend and a strong push for decarbonation of mobility. In Europe, the European Commission has set very ambitious targets in terms of CO2 reduction and several countries have announced large investments in rail.
Alstom is a preeminent rail equipment player with an industry-record backlog of €40bn and €8.1bn of annual sales as of 31-Mar-2019. Over the period 2016-2019, Alstom delivered strong sales development with an average annual growth of 5.5% outperforming the market, and significantly improved profitability (up to 7.5% adjusted EBIT margin).
Bombardier Transportation is a reference player in global rail transportation with a €32bn backlog and €7.4bn sales as of December 2019. With a track record of market leadership and a strong expertise, Bombardier Transportation offers a broad product portfolio across all market segments and has a well-balanced industrial footprint between best-cost and high-tech countries.
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said on Thursday it will book a 496.4 billion yen ($4.5 billion) special loss after its aircraft unit delayed the delivery of its SpaceJet regional jet for at least another year until after March 2021.
The sixth delay announced by Mitsubishi Aircraft is a fresh blow to Japan’s commercial jet ambitions and could stretch Mitsubishi Heavy Industries’ finances.
The company cited the special loss as one reason for wiping out a forecast for operating profit of 220 billion yen in the business year ending March 31.
The new postponement also means an aircraft that Mitsubishi Heavy had planned to bring to market in 2013, will have to compete against a new generation of regional jets built by Brazil’s Embraer SA <ERJ>.
Japan’s biggest airline by revenue, ANA Holdings Inc., is now to take the first delivery of the jet sometime after March 2021.
Mitsubishi Heavy, which builds products ranging from nuclear reactors and ships to rockets and industrial machinery, has traditionally relied on stronger units to support weaker businesses.
“We use cashflow and borrowing to finance our projects and going forward the SpaceJet development will require further funds,” a spokesman for Mitsubishi Heavy said. The company, he added, had no plan at the moment to raise capital for aircraft development.
Government funding would not be an option for Japan’s biggest heavy machinery maker even though the SpaceJet is backed by the government because doing so would contravene World Trade Organization (WTO) rules banning taxpayer subsidies.
A spokeswoman for Mitsubishi Aircraft declined to say how much development of the SpaceJet has cost so far.
The company on Thursday said it had appointed Takaoki Niwa, the head of its U.S. operations, as its new president, replacing Hisakazu Mizutani, who will become chairman.
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Kim Coghill and Christopher Cushing)
The BelugaXL has entered into service, providing Airbus with 30% extra transport capacity in order to support the on-going production ramp-up of commercial aircraft programmes.
The aircraft, which is an integral part of Airbus’ industrial system, made its first operational flight on 9 January. This is the first of six BelugaXL to begin work alongside the BelugaST predecessors, with the additional aircraft being introduced between 2020 and 2023.
Launched just over five years ago, in November 2014, the entry into service milestone marks yet another successful achievement for the internal aircraft programme that was awarded Type Certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in November 2019, following an intensive flight test campaign that saw the BelugaXL complete more than 200 flight tests, clocking over 700 flight hours.
At 63 metres long and 8 metres wide, the BelugaXL has the largest cargo bay cross-section of all existing cargo aircraft worldwide. The BelugaXL can carry two A350 XWB wings compared to the BelugaST, which can only carry one. With a maximum payload of 51 tonnes, the BelugaXL has a range of 4,000 km. (2200nm).
The BelugaXL is based on an A330-200 Freighter, enabling the re-use of existing components and equipment, and is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines. The lowered cockpit, the cargo bay structure and the rear-end and tail were newly developed jointly with partners, giving the aircraft its distinctive look.
The BelugaXL is the latest addition to Airbus’ transportation portfolio. While air transport remains the primary method for transporting large aircraft components, Airbus also uses road, rail and sea transport to move parts between its production sites. Like the BelugaST, the aircraft will operate from 11 destinations in Europe, continuing to strengthen industrial capabilities and enabling Airbus to deliver on its commitments.
Genesee & Wyoming Inc. (G&W) today announced the completion of its previously announced sale to affiliates of Brookfield Infrastructure and GIC.
Under the terms of the sale, each issued and outstanding share of G&W common stock converted into the right to receive $112 in cash. As a result of the completion of the sale, G&W’s common stock ceased trading on the NYSE prior to market open today and will no longer be listed for trading on the NYSE.
“This transaction is an excellent outcome for all G&W stakeholders,” said Jack Hellmann, Chief Executive Officer of G&W. “For our customers, employees, and Class I partners, the long-term investment horizon of Brookfield and GIC is perfectly aligned with the long lives of G&W railroad assets. We look forward to building on G&W’s track record of safety, service excellence and commercial growth as we become an important component of a portfolio of global infrastructure assets.”
About Genesee & Wyoming
G&W owns or leases 119 freight railroads organized in locally managed operating regions with 8,000 employees serving 3,000 customers.
G&W’s six North American regions serve 42 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces and include 113 short line and regional freight railroads with more than 13,000 track-miles.
G&W’s Australia Region serves New South Wales, the Northern Territory and South Australia and operates the 1,400-mile Tarcoola-to-Darwin rail line. The Australia Region is 51.1% owned by G&W and 48.9% owned by a consortium of funds and clients managed by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
G&W’s UK/Europe Region includes the U.K.’s largest rail maritime intermodal operator and second-largest freight rail provider, as well as regional rail services in Continental Europe.
G&W subsidiaries and joint ventures also provide rail service at more than 40 major ports, rail-ferry service between the U.S. Southeast and Mexico, transload services, contract coal loading, and industrial railcar switching and repair. For more information, please visit www.gwrr.com.
About Brookfield Infrastructure
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is a leading global infrastructure company that owns and operates high quality, long-life assets in the utilities, transport, energy and data infrastructure sectors across North and South America, Asia Pacific and Europe. We are focused on assets that generate stable cash flows and require minimal maintenance capital expenditures. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.brookfieldinfrastructure.com.
Brookfield Infrastructure is the flagship listed infrastructure company of Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager with over $500 billion of assets under management. For more information, go to www.brookfield.com.
About GIC
GIC is a leading global investment firm established in 1981 to manage Singapore’s foreign reserves. As a disciplined long-term value investor, GIC is uniquely positioned for investments across a wide range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, private equity, real estate and infrastructure. In infrastructure, GIC’s primary strategy is to invest directly in operating assets with a high degree of cash flow visibility and which provide a hedge against inflation. GIC has investments in over 40 countries. Headquartered in Singapore, GIC employs over 1,500 people across 10 offices in key financial cities worldwide. For more information on GIC, please visit www.gic.com.sg.
MILAN, Nov 19 (Reuters) – Italian infrastructure group Atlantia said on Tuesday it was not ready to join a consortium led by Italian railway group Ferrovie dello Stato to rescue loss-making carrier Alitalia, casting a shadow on the entire project.
After months of negotiations and with just one day left before a deadline expires, the group controlled by the Benetton family said that the conditions did not exist yet for it to join a consortium working on Alitalia.
Atlantia added, however, it remained available to engage in negotiations to seek for an industrial partner for the carrier.
A deadline to present a binding offer for Alitalia expires on Thursday, after being postponed several times.
Loss-making Alitalia has been run by special administrators since May 2017 and talks led by Ferrovie have been going on for a year without a deal.
The carrier, which is burning through its cash reserves, is expected to finish its money at the end of this year.
Ferrovie and Atlantia have been in talks with both U.S. carrier Delta Air Lines Inc and, recently, with German airline Lufthansa.
Delta said it was ready to invest 100 million euros ($111 million) in the Italian carrier but sources had said it did not agree with Ferrovie and Atlantia over the development of the Italian carrier’s long-haul business.
On the other hand, Lufthansa said it was prepared to set up a commercial partnership with the Italian carrier but did not want to take a stake in the group before it has gone through a complete restructuring.
“We will not invest in current Alitalia, but we are interested being a commercial partner,” said Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr at an event in Berlin on Tuesday.
Italian daily La Repubblica on Tuesday said the airline could be nationalized for some years before being sold.
Analysts calculate that Italian taxpayers have spent more than 9 billion euros to support Alitalia, which has undergone two previous failed rescue attempts.
($1 = 0.9028 euros)
(Reporting by Francesca Landini; Additional reporting by Ilona Wissenbach in Berlin; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
FILE PHOTO: Emirates Airline Boeing 777 planes at are seen Dubai International Airport in Dubai
DUBAI (Reuters) – An eight-month crisis over the grounding of Boeing’s 737 MAX jets and widespread industrial delays are setting an unpredictable backdrop to next week’s Dubai Airshow, with some airlines reviewing fleet plans even as others look for bargains.
The biennial civil and military expo is a major showcase for wares from jumbo jets to military drones but faces growing questions over demand and the capability of overstretched suppliers, delegates arriving for the Nov. 17-21 event said.
Top of their agenda will be the worldwide grounding of the 737 MAX in the wake of two deadly crashes.
Investors who have pushed up Boeing <BA> shares believe the planemaker is turning a corner after the eight month grounding, with the company predicting commercial flights in January. But it also faces a logjam of undelivered jets that could take 1-2 years to unwind.
State-owned flydubai expects its fleet will now shrink by a third this year, highlighting the cost of the grounding for the biggest MAX customer outside the United States. “Flydubai has very big ambitions … given the scale of those ambitions, there’s little they can do but wait and watch, like everyone else,” said Teal Group analyst Richard Aboulafia.
Boeing lost one potential MAX customer earlier this year as Saudi budget airline flyadeal ditched a provisional order.
Experts say airline frustrations with plane and engine makers could also disrupt plans by the world’s largest jetmakers pushing for order endorsements. The Middle East’s largest aerospace event will give Airbus <EADSY> and Boeing a chance to sit with some of their top customers who have threatened to walk from billions in deals.
The planemakers are struggling to deliver aircraft on time, forcing airlines to delay expansion plans, while engines on some jets are consistently causing issues for carriers.
“This seems to be a systemic issue across the board,” said Novus Aviation Capital Managing Director Mounir Kuzbari.
“As a result, we see stress on the relationship between airlines and the plane and engine makers.” Dubai’s Emirates, by far the region’s biggest airline, has issued a stern warning to plane and engine makers. It will no longer take delivery of aircraft that do not meet performance expectations, raising doubts over $35 billion in pending orders.
Airbus, Boeing and engine makers will be looking to allay concerns as they finalise jet sales with Emirates, which is also looking at reducing an order for the delayed Boeing 777X.
Airbus is seen close to a final order for A330neo and A350 jets while Boeing aims to salvage a provisional order for 787s.
GULF PRESSURE
Air Arabia could, however, steal the show with a planned order of up to 120 Airbus jets, industry sources say.
Kuwait’s Jazeera Airways is in negotiations with Airbus and Boeing for around two dozen airplanes.
Past editions of Dubai’s premier trade event have featured blockbuster deals, often led by Emirates as Gulf carriers redrew the aviation map around their ‘super-connector’ hubs.
But the Gulf hub model is increasingly under pressure as the once-rapid growth of the region’s biggest airlines slows.
“The market continues to be weak for all airlines in the region; we should see a further 2-3% reduction in passenger numbers for the full year,” said Diogenis Papiomytis, Frost & Sullivan’s Global Program Director for Commercial Aviation.
Middle East military leaders touring the displays will try to gauge whether they are on the cusp of another regional splurge on weapons after an escalation in Gulf tensions.
A series of attacks over the summer has highlighted potential security gaps among some of the world’s top defence spenders who now increasingly buy from China and Russia.
(Reporting by Alexander Cornwell, Tim Hepher, Ankit Ajmera, Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Mark Potter)
PARIS, Oct 7 (Reuters) – France’s Dassault Aviation and Europe’s Airbus have stepped up pressure on France and Germany to agree on the next stage of a planned fighter project, warning Europe’s arms industry and long-term security could suffer from delays.
The two companies are the leading industrial partners in a project to build a futuristic swarm of manned and unmanned warplanes, announced by the leaders of France and Germany two years ago and expanded earlier this year to include Spain.
Dassault and Airbus won a 65-million-euro contract in January to develop the concept for the Future Combat Air System (FCAS) but await a new contract to build demonstrators for interlinked fighters, drones and an “air combat cloud” by 2026.
Dassault Aviation Chief Executive Eric Trappier told a conference of policymakers last month that the demonstrator contract should have been launched in September but this was now slipping towards end-year. He called it “indispensable” to avoid any further delays in order to maintain the 2026 deadline.
No reason has been given for the delays.
On Monday evening, Dassault and Airbus amplified those warnings with a joint statement.
“If Europe does not move forward — and move forward quickly — on this programme, it will be impossible to maintain the development and production capabilities needed for a sovereign defence industry,” the companies said.
The warplane system is expected to be operational from 2040, with a view to replacing Dassault’s Rafale and the four-nation Eurofighter, in which Airbus represents both Germany and Spain.
The new project faces competition from Britain and its plans for a new combat jet dubbed “Tempest”.
The fighter developments have split the current Eurofighter consortium and led to a shake-up of industrial alliances as Italy joins Eurofighter partner Britain on Tempest, turning its back on Germany and Spain, while Sweden has opened the door to abandoning its independent stance by co-operating on Tempest.
The FCAS is also overshadowed by differences between France and Germany over export policy after Germany imposed a ban on arms exports to Saudi Arabia over the death of killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi a year ago by Saudi operatives.
The ban, recently extended to March, has raised questions over a long-delayed Saudi border systems contract run by Airbus.
Airbus Defence and Space Chief Executive Dirk Hoke called in a magazine interview last week for the export ban to be relaxed. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government has said there is no reason for the moratorium to be lifted.
France and Germany are expected to discuss the issue at ministerial meetings this week.
AIRBUS SETBACK IN SPAIN
Airbus meanwhile faces a battle to shore up its position as a top defence contractor in Spain after losing its place as the representative of Spain’s interests on the upcoming fighter project to local defence electronics firm Indra Sistemas.
Spain last month named Indra as contractor for the Spanish share of the Franco-German-led FCAS project, displacing Airbus from the Spanish coordinator role it had held on Eurofighter.
Airbus officials have pledged to try to overturn the move but a Spanish defence source told Reuters there was no change in the decision.
Indra declined to comment.
Publicly, Airbus has said it was surprised by the decision but has pledged to continue to defend Spain’s best interests.
Dassault will meanwhile mark a long-awaited milestone on Tuesday when it delivers the first of 36 Rafales to India, the culmination of a fighter procurement process that lasted almost 20 years and involved the cancellation of a much larger deal.
La Tribune reported on Monday that France and India were discussing a possible repeat order for 36 more Rafales.
(Additional reporting by Emma Pinedo Gonzalez in Madrid, Tassilo Hummel in Berlin, Editing by Deepa Babington)
LONDON, Aug 23 (Reuters) – British Airways pilots are to go on strike for three days in September, their union said on Friday, in a dispute over pay that could disrupt the peak summer holiday season.
Last month, the pilots overwhelmingly voted for industrial action and the airline, which is part of IAG, failed in a court bid to stop them.
“The British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) has today given notice to British Airways that it will call on its members to strike on 9th, 10th and 27th September 2019,” the union said in a statement.
“It is clear, following discussions with members over the last few days, that BA’s most recent offer will not gain the support of anywhere near a majority of its pilots.”
British Airways said the strike action was unjustifiable as their pay offer was fair and that the strikes would destroy the travel plans of tens of thousands of customers.
“We are now making changes to our schedule. We will do everything we can to get as many people away on their journeys as possible,” the airline said in a statement.
“However, it is likely that many of our customers will not be able to travel and we will be offering refunds and re-bookings for passengers booked on cancelled flights.”
The airline said it was exploring options to supplement its fleet with aircraft and crew from other airlines, known as wet-leasing, and working with partner airlines to schedule larger aircraft to take more customers.
(Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison)
Airbus has today officially begun manufacturing the A220 in the U.S. The first team of A220 production workers began work at Airbus’ Mobile, Alabama-based production facility following their recent return from on-the-job training in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, where the A220 programme and primary final assembly line are located.
“The expansion of our commercial aircraft production in Mobile to a second product line – with 400 additional jobs to support it – further solidifies Airbus’ standing as a truly global aircraft manufacturer, and confirms without a doubt that Airbus is an important part of America’s manufacturing landscape,” said Airbus Americas Chairman & CEO C. Jeffrey Knittel. “With Mobile, and our production network in Asia, Canada and Europe, we have strategically created a worldwide industrial base to better serve our customers.”
Airbus announced plans for the addition of A220 manufacturing in Mobile in October 2017. Construction on the main A220 flowline hangar and other support buildings for the new A220 began at the Mobile Aeroplex at Brookley at the beginning of this year. Airbus is producing the first few aircraft within some current A320 Family buildings and newly-built support hangars. The first U.S.-made A220 – an A220-300 destined for Delta Air Lines – is scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2020. By the middle of the next decade, the facility will produce between 40 and 50 A220 aircraft per year.
The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and wide-body passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft. The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. The A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft. With an order book of 551 aircraft as of end of June 2019, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100-to-150-seat aircraft market, estimated to represent 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
Airbus has strong and longstanding ties to the United States, with Airbus aircraft being operated by the largest airlines in America. Additionally, Airbus is a major partner of U.S. aerospace companies and workers. The company has purchased $48 billion of components and materials from American suppliers in the last three years alone, and supports more than 275,000 American jobs. Among its facilities in the U.S. Airbus has: engineering centers in Kansas and Alabama; training facilities in Florida and Colorado; materials support and headquarters in Virginia; an innovative think tank (A3) in California; a drone data analysis business (Airbus Aerial) in Atlanta, Georgia; helicopter manufacturing and assembly facilities in Texas and Mississippi; and a satellite manufacturing facility (OneWeb) in Florida.
