Saab AB (Stockholm: series B: SAABb)President and CEO Micael Johansson says “The geopolitical tensions are impacting our industry and driving the largest increase in defence investments in the last 30 years, particularly in Europe. In the third quarter, high demand for Saab’s broad defence portfolio continued to result in significant order intake, strong sales growth and improved profitability.”
Key highlights Q3 2023
Order intake amounted to SEK 14,977m (7,772) with strong growth in all order sizes in the quarter.
Sales increased to SEK 11,527m (8,751) with an organic growth of 31%, driven by growth in all business areas.
EBITDA increased 28% and amounted to SEK 1,424m (1,115), corresponding to an EBITDA margin of 12.4% (12.7).
Operating income (EBIT) increased 51% and amounted to SEK 859m (568). The EBIT margin was 7.5% (6.5) with improvements in several business areas in the quarter.
Net income for the period increased to SEK 656m (324) and earnings per share amounted to SEK 4.84 (2.28).
Operational cash flow in the quarter was SEK -2,058m (559) mainly due to timing of customer payments combined with higher investments.
Net liquidity position in the quarter was SEK 1.4 bn (0.4).
Upgraded outlook for organic sales growth 2023: organic sales growth to be between 19-23%, compared to previous outlook of 16-20%.
Copenhagen, Denmark – A.P. Moller – Maersk (OTC: AMKBY) reports a second quarter of 2023 ahead of expectations, while the ongoing market normalisation continued through the quarter leading to lower volumes and lower rates. Revenue stood at USD 13.0bn compared to USD 21.7bn in Q2 2022 while profitability was strong at 12.4% although significantly lower compared to the extraordinarily strong Q2 2022. Reflecting the strong first half performance, Maersk raises its financial outlook and now expects underlying EBITDA of USD 9.5 – 11.0bn (previously USD 8.0 – 11.0bn), underlying EBIT of USD 3.5 – 5.0bn (previously USD 2.0 – 5.0bn) despite a weakened second half market outlook.
Ocean revenue decreased to USD 8.7bn from USD 17.4bn driven by a decrease in freight rates and loaded volumes. While the volume and rate environment stabilized at a lower level during Q2, Ocean continued to be impacted by lower demand, driven by a significant inventory correction in particular in North America and Europe. A strong cost management allowed to partially offset the top line impact on financial performance in Ocean.
Revenue in Logistics & Services was USD 3.4bn compared to USD 3.5bn. The segment was also impacted by lower volumes due to the continued destocking and weaker consumer demand, as well as low rates. As in Ocean, market demand is expected to continue to be subdued as long as the inventory correction is ongoing.
Revenue in Terminals decreased to USD 950m from USD 1.1bn and was influenced by the normalisation of storage revenue and lower volumes amid lower consumer demand and less congestion in North America. Strong cost control contributed to a continued solid financial performance.
China Airlines today unveiled the first of six Boeing 777 Freighters, officially becoming the 20th operator of the world’s largest and longest range twin-aisle freighter. The 777 Freighter joins the airline amid growing demand for dedicated freighters as operators grapple with the impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Air cargo demand has risen in light of the global pandemic and has played a critical role in maintaining profitability for our airline despite the downturn in passenger traffic,” said China Airlines Chairman Hsieh Su-Chien. “The efficiency and capability of the 777 Freighter enables us to modernize our freighter fleet, while also allowing us to increase capacity and open into new markets. We look forward to delivering world-class service to our customers.”
China Airlines aims to increase its cargo capacity by 15% in 2021 and is planning to launch the 777 Freighter on routes connecting Taipei with North America — a key market with strong demand and escalating yields. An operator of all-Boeing freighter fleet, China Airlines debuted its new 777 Freighter during a ceremony in Taipei to mark the carrier’s 61st anniversary. The airline is set to take five more 777 Freighters as part of an order announced at the 2019 Paris Air Show.
The 777 Freighter is the world’s largest, longest range and most capable twin-engine freighter. The airplane has a range of 9,200 km (4,970 nautical miles) and can carry a maximum payload of 102,010 kg (224,900 lbs). The airplane will allow China Airlines to make fewer stops and reduce associated landing fees on long-haul routes, resulting in the lowest trip cost of any large freighter.
The 747 and 777 freighters, both of which make up China Airlines’ world-class freighter fleet, are capable of carrying tall and outsized cargo loads on 3-meter (10-foot) tall pallets. This common main-deck pallet height capability enables interchangeable pallets, adding to the versatility of both models.
“With the global air cargo fleet expected to grow by more than 60% over the next 20 years, the unmatched efficiency of the 777 Freighter will significantly boost China Airlines’ air cargo capabilities and enable them to scale their world-class cargo operations,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for Boeing. “We are honored to strengthen our partnership with China Airlines as they continue to build one of the world’s most dynamic freighter fleets.”
In addition to commercial airplanes, Boeing provides China Airlines with total life cycle support services to streamline parts provisioning and flight and maintenance operations. The entire China Airlines fleet uses Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro, which provides access to digital navigation charts and interactive maps to optimize performance and enhance situational awareness.
China Airlines also recently signed an agreement for Airplane Health Management (AHM), which tracks real-time airplane information, providing data and decision support tools that allow technicians to quickly and correctly resolve maintenance issues. This allows airlines to take proactive actions based on AHM-generated alerts, reducing disruptions to operations and the costs associated with unscheduled maintenance. With the agreement, China Airlines joins more than 100 global customers using the AHM solution.
OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air’s turnaround gathered pace last month as the budget carrier removed unprofitable routes from its network and boosted the income from remaining flights, sending its shares up almost 6% in early trade.
The airline’s yield – income per passenger carried and kilometre flown – rose 15% to 0.40 Norwegian crown ($0.0435), its monthly traffic report showed on Thursday, beating a 0.37 crown forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.
The company cut its capacity by a bigger-than-expected 29% in January from a year earlier. Analysts had expected a 22.2% decline in capacity for the month.
Norwegian’s shares traded 4.3% higher at 39.66 crowns by 0839 GMT, but are still down 46% in the last 12 months.
“I am pleased that we continue to deliver on the strategy of moving from growth to profitability,” Chief Executive Jacob Schram, in office since the start of the year, said in a statement.
Norwegian has shaken up the transatlantic travel market with low fares, but breakneck expansion and the grounding of its Boeing MAX fleet also brought mounting losses, forcing the company repeatedly to raise cash from owners.
Seeking to turn itself around and avoid joining the ranks of collapsed airlines, the company announced in October it would cut its capacity by 10% in 2020 from 2019.
Another measure, revenue per available seat kilometre, or RASK, grew by 22% year-on-year to 0.32 crowns, beating the 0.30 crowns predicted by analysts, and Norwegian also raised its fuel hedges to guard against a spike in prices.
The increase in RASK pointed to better operating margins at the carrier, said Danske Bank analyst Martin Stenshall, who holds a buy recommendation on the stock.
Norwegian on average filled 80.9% of seats in January, up from a load factor of 76.1% a year ago and beating an average forecast of 80.6%.
Routes between Ireland and the United States and Canada were cut from Norwegian’s schedule last September, and in December the company announced the sale of its domestic business in Argentina.
The cutbacks may also alleviate the pressure on rivals such as Scandinavian Airlines, which now faces less head-to-head competition on routes between Europe and the United States.
($1 = 9.1879 Norwegian crowns)
(Editing by Gwladys Fouche and Barbara Lewis)
Norwegian Air Sweden Boeing 737-800 plane SE-RRJ approaches Riga International Airport in Riga
Zurich, Switzerland, October 31st, 2019 – In ceremony held at its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, Helvetic Airways officially received its first E190-E2 jet from Embraer. The airline has a contract for a firm order of 12 jets of this model, and purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2, with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order up to 24 E-Jets E2s.
“As the only Swiss airline to operate Embraer aircraft, Helvetic Airways already stands out from the competition,” said Martyn Holmes, Vice President Europe, Russia & Central Asia, Embraer Commercial Aviation. “And, with our state-of-the-art E190-E2, it now has the perfect aircraft, in terms of environmental sustainability and to maximize the profitability of its flight operations.”
Helvetic Airways CEO Tobias Pogorevc is pleased to have achieved this milestone. “After more than eighteen intensive months,” he commented, “it’s a sense of accomplishment that we feel most today. With the E190-E2, Helvetic Airways is entering a truly new era. Our state-of-the-art twinjet will make us one of Embraer’s leading European operators. And it gives us just the modern and environmentally friendly aircraft we need to continue our development.”
This E190-E2 aircraft marks the start of Helvetic’s fleet renewal program. The purchase rights for a further 12 aircraft (E190-E2 or E195-E2) will enable Helvetic Airways to grow according to market opportunities. Helvetic Airways is configuring the E190-E2 in a single class layout with 110 seats and will deploy the aircraft on several domestic and international routes.
The E190-E2 is the first of three new aircraft types that make up the Embraer E2 family of aircraft, developed to succeed the first-generation E-Jets. Compared to the first-generation E190, the E190-E2 burns 17.3% less fuel and nearly 10% less than its direct competitor. This makes it the most efficient single-aisle aircraft on the market. The E190-E2 brings more flexibility with maximum range of up to 3,293 miles (5,300 km), about 621 miles (1,000 km) more than the first-generation E190.
The E190-E2 also generates significant savings for airlines in terms of maintenance costs. It has the longest maintenance intervals with 10,000 flight hours for basic checks and no calendar limit in typical E-Jets utilization. This means an additional 15 days of aircraft utilization over a period of ten years.
Pilots of the first-generation E-Jets require only two-and-a-half days of training without the need for a full flight simulator in order to fly the E2, which decreases the training burden and saves both time and money for the airlines. The E2 cockpit features advanced Honeywell Primus Epic 2 integrated avionics. Combined with the closed-loop fly-by-wire controls, the systems work together to improve aircraft performance, decrease pilot workload and enhance flight safety.
From the passenger’s perspective, the E2 cabin features a comfortable two-by-two layout. The absence of a middle seat enables passengers to have an enjoyable flight experience with more legroom and additional luggage storage space.
Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.
OSLO (JULY 11, 2019) – After 17 years as the CEO of Norwegian Air Shuttle, Bjørn Kjos will leave the position and continue in a new role as an advisor to the Chairman, with effect from July 11th. Until Norwegian appoints a new CEO, CFO Geir Karlsen will act as interim CEO, while Chairman Niels Smedegaard will take on a more active role in the management.
“I am very pleased Bjørn will remain at the company as an advisor to the Board and the Chair. As Norwegian moves from growth to profitability, it will be an advantage for the company to benefit from Bjørn’s extensive network, in-depth knowledge of and experience with global aviation. We have already started the process of recruiting a permanent new CEO,” said Niels Smedegaard, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Norwegian.
“I am confident that the Board of Directors will find the best qualified successor to lead the next chapters of the Norwegian story together with the top management team. Leaving the exciting future tasks to a new CEO and taking on a new challenge as an advisor, is a set-up I am very happy with. I look forward to spending more time working on specific strategic projects that are crucial to the future success of Norwegian,” said Bjørn Kjos.
Bjørn Kjos is one of the founders of Norwegian Air Shuttle. During his tenure as CEO, the company has developed from a small domestic operation with 130 employees and four aircraft to a global and award-winning low-cost airline with more than 11,000 employees and 162 aircraft.
“Bjørn has played an unprecedented role in Norwegian’s success. His vision of offering affordable fares for all, combined with his enthusiasm and innovating spirit, has revolutionized the way people travel for pleasure and for business, not least between the continents. Bjørn is definitely one of the most influential European entrepreneurs of our time,” Smedegaard said.
Following a demanding period of financial and operational challenges, fueled by significant investments, Norwegian changed its strategy from growth to profitability in 2018. Going forward, the company will harvest from its rapid global growth and investments. Running a profitable business and boosting company value to the benefit of shareholders, customers and employees will be key for the CEO going forward.
“We have to ensure that Norwegian is well prepared and positioned to handle volatile markets and unexpected events. It is crucial that we continue to deliver on our cost reduction initiatives and that we constantly ensure that we have a route portfolio that yields profit. It is also important that the new CEO develops an organization that embraces continued improvement and operational excellence,” Smedegaard added.
Niels Smedegaard Niels Smedegaard (born 1962) was the President and CEO of DFDS from 2007 to 2019. He has previously held leading positions in companies such as Gate Gourmet Group, Swissair and SAS. Smedegaard is a Danish citizen and holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degree from Copenhagen Business School. He also holds a number of board appointments at various European companies. Niels Smedegaard has been elected Chairman of the Board of Norwegian for the period 2019 to 2021.
Bjørn Kjos Bjørn Kjos (born 1946) has been the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Norwegian since October 2002. He is one of the founding partners of Norwegian Air Shuttle and was the Chairman of the Board from 1993 to 1996. Kjos was also Chairman during the start-up of the Boeing 737 operation from June to September 2002. Kjos was a fighter pilot in the 334 squadron for six years and is a law graduate from the University of Oslo. He was granted the right of audience in the Supreme Court in 1993.
Geir Karlsen Geir Karlsen (born 1965) was appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in April 2018 and deputy CEO in April 2019. He has extensive experience from listed companies within shipping and offshore. Geir Karlsen has over the last 12 years held various CFO positions with international companies such as Golden Ocean Group and Songa Offshore. Before joining Norwegian, he was Group CFO at London-based Navig8 Group, the world’s largest independent pool and management company. Karlsen has a degree in Business Administration from BI Norwegian Business School.
Immediately following the presentation of the results for the second quarter, Norwegian will arrange a press briefing with Niels Smedegaard, Bjørn Kjos and Geir Karlsen about the top management changes. The presentation of the results and the press conference will take place at Felix Conference Center, Bryggetorget 3. The Q2 results presentation starts at 08:30, Central European Time.
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)
