Tag: remains

thyssenkrupp Sells Elevator Technology Business for €17.2 Billion

March 16, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Consortium of bidders led by Advent, Cinven and RAG foundation

Sales proceeds pave the way for further transformation of thyssenkrupp

Cash inflow remains within the company

Buyers give far-reaching site and employment guarantees for tk Elevator

Closing and purchase price payment expected by the end of the current fiscal year

Martina Merz: “With the sale of Elevator, thyssenkrupp can pick up speed again. We will reduce the company’s debt as far as is necessary and at the same time invest as much as is reasonable in its further development.”

thyssenkrupp sells its Elevator Technology business entirely to a consortium led by Advent, Cinven and RAG foundation. The respective Executive Board decision was approved on Thursday evening by the Supervisory Board of thyssenkrupp AG. The purchase agreement has been signed. Closing of the transaction is expected by the end of the current fiscal year. The purchase price is €17.2 billion. thyssenkrupp will reinvest part of the purchase price^[1] (€1.25 billion) in a stake in the elevator business. The transaction is subject to merger control approvals, although thyssenkrupp does not expect the competent authorities to have any reservations. The proceeds from the transaction will remain within the company and are to be used to the extent necessary to strengthen the balance sheet. Alongside this, the proceeds shall be used to advance the development of the remaining businesses and the portfolio. As announced at the Annual General Meeting at the end of January, thyssenkrupp is proceeding the analysis phase so that a decision on the concrete use of funds can be taken in May.

Martina Merz, CEO of thyssenkrupp AG: “With the sale, we are paving the way for thyssenkrupp to become successful. Not only have we obtained a very good selling price, we will also be able to complete the transaction quickly. It is now crucial for us to find the best possible balance for the use of the funds. We will reduce thyssenkrupp’s debt as far as is necessary and at the same time invest as much as is reasonable in developing the company. With this, thyssenkrupp can pick up speed again.”

The sale of Elevator is a favorable solution not only for the company, its shareholders, customers and employees, but also for the elevator business itself. In the consortium, thyssenkrupp has found new owners for the elevator business who have extensive industrial expertise and offer the workforce a high degree of security. The buyers have a strong track record in profitably growing and nurturing companies to become global champions.

In negotiations with employee representatives and the IG Metall trade union, the buyers have committed to far-reaching site and employment guarantees. In addition, it was agreed that the buyers will continue to manage thyssenkrupp Elevator as a global group. The company will also remain based in Germany and employee co-determination will continue. That means the solution is in line with thyssenkrupp’s understanding of corporate and social responsibility.

“We are not pleased to part with our employees and the elevator business. Nevertheless, today is a good day for everyone involved. With this step, we are opening up real prospects for the future: for the elevator business as an independent company and, with the financial solidity we have gained, also for all other areas of thyssenkrupp,” Martina Merz added.

New Technology Creates Hyper Elevators That Can Go Sideways

United Beats Wall Street Expectations Despite 737 MAX Delays

January 21, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

CHICAGO (Reuters) – United Airlines Holdings Inc <UAL> on Tuesday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit and held to its 2020 profit target, with a turnaround strategy overseen by its outgoing CEO underpinning growth even as the Boeing 737 MAX remains grounded.

Chicago-based United is one of three U.S. airlines cancelling more than 1,000 monthly flights in a hit to profits as the 737 MAX remains grounded following two deadly crashes in Indonesia and Ethiopia. Boeing Co <BA> said on Tuesday it does not expect approval for the 737 MAX’s return to service until mid-year, later than previously forecast.

While United has warned of a hit from the MAX grounding, it did not disclose any estimated financial impact from the fallout and stood by its full-year adjusted EPS range of $11 to $13.

Total operating revenue rose 3.8% to $10.89 billion, boosted by strong travel demand and Chief Executive Oscar Munoz’s three-year strategy to build up the airline’s flight connections through its main U.S. hubs. United President Scott Kirby will succeed Munoz as CEO later this year.

Revenue per mile flown, a closely watched industry measurement, rose 0.8% in the fourth quarter and United forecast similar growth in the first quarter given solid bookings.

However, unit costs excluding fuel and profit-sharing expenses, a concern for investors in a year of contract negotiations with pilots, rose 2.7%.

United had already announced a non-cash impairment charge of $90 million in the fourth quarter related to its Hong Kong routes, following anti-government protests in the city.

Shares of United closed 4.4% lower at $85.79 before the earnings release, tracking sharp declines for U.S. airline and travel stocks on concerns over the Wuhan coronavirus in China, which J.P.Morgan analyst Jamie Baker said poses a near-term overhang for airlines.

United did not comment on the outbreak in its results but separately said there is no impact on its operations and it remains in close contact with U.S., Chinese and other Asian authorities on safety.

United management will host a conference call to discuss results on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. EST (1630 GMT).

Adjusted net income rose to $676 million, or $2.67 per share, in the fourth quarter to Dec. 31, from $657 million a year earlier, topping a Wall Street consensus forecast for $2.65 per share.

Fellow U.S. MAX operators Southwest Airlines Co <LUV> and American Airlines Group Inc <AAL> are due to report quarterly results on Thursday.

The three airlines are scheduling without the MAX until early June though that timeline will likely need to be pushed back following Tuesday’s guidance from Boeing.

United, which had 14 737 MAX jets in its fleet at the time of the grounding, said it plans to take delivery of 28 MAX variants in 2020 depending on U.S. regulatory approval and Boeing’s subsequent pace of production and deliveries.

Among other aircraft orders, it expects to take delivery of two Boeing 777-300’s and 15 Boeing 787’s in 2020 but has decided to assign its purchase obligations for 20 Embraer 175’s to one of its regional partners once each jet is delivered.

(Reporting by Tracy Rucinski in Chicago; Additional reporting by Dominic Roshan K L in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

An American Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 flight approaches to land at Reagan National Airport in Washington

Remains of 6 Recovered from Hawaii Helicopter Crash

December 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

No sign of any survivors

(Reuters) – Teams combing the wreckage of a Hawaii sightseeing helicopter that crashed on Kauai island found no sign of survivors on Friday and recovered six sets of human remains before suspending the search due to bad weather, police and fire officials said.

The grim announcement came in a news conference almost 24 hours after the aircraft, first reported missing on Thursday evening, went down in a remote area of rugged terrain near the end of a tour flight over the island’s famed Na Pali Coast.

The crash was at least the ninth, and by far the deadliest, involving sightseeing helicopters in Hawaii over the past five years, according to National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) records.

The confirmed manifest of the ill-fated aircraft, flown by Kauai-based tour operator Safari Helicopters, consisted of six passengers, two of them children, and one pilot, Kauai County fire battalion chief Solomon Kanoho told reporters.

The identities of the dead were being kept confidential until next of kin could be notified, authorities said.

“We are heartbroken by this tragedy and we continue to ask the public to consider the sensitive nature of this devastating situation,” Mayor Derek Kawakami said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and loved ones of all victims during this extremely difficult time.”

The Kauai fire department called off its search-and-recovery efforts late Friday afternoon due to fog and poor visibility but planned to resume the operation at daybreak on Saturday, Kanoho said.

Although the remains of just six of the seven people who were aboard the ill-fated aircraft have been recovered, Kanoho added: “There are no indications of survivors.”

TOURISTS FROM TWO FAMILIES

Kanoho previously said the passengers on board the helicopter had been in two groups – a party of two from one family and a party of four from another.

Kanoho declined to describe details of the wreckage out of respect for the victims’ loved ones.

While the cause of the crash has yet to be determined, Kanoho said the area where the helicopter went down had experienced “some very bad weather” beforehand, adding that the chopper had crashed within its prescribed flight route.

The NTSB, which said it was sending a three-member team to investigate the crash, reported in May that there had been eight accidents involving Hawaii tour helicopters over the past five years, with four deaths and 18 injuries.

The agency made that report after a tour helicopter went down in a residential neighborhood on the island of Oahu in April, killing three people.

The latest crash was in Koke’e State Park in an area called Nu’alolo, a steep-sided valley north of Waimea Canyon State Park, according to a statement posted by the Kauai police department on Facebook.

Waimea Canyon is a tourist destination known as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific,” and police said the helicopter was last heard from at about 4:40 p.m. on Thursday, when the pilot radioed that the aircraft was just departing that area.

A search was launched a short time later, after Safari alerted authorities that the helicopter was 30 minutes overdue on its flight back to the airfield in Lihue on the island’s southeast end, officials said.

A U.S. Coast Guard cutter vessel and helicopter search crew were immediately dispatched. The search was expanded at daybreak on Friday to include air, sea and ground teams from the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, police, fire department and other agencies.

The missing aircraft was equipped with an electronic locator beacon, but no signals were received after it disappeared, the Coast Guard said.

According to its website, Safari offers aerial sightseeing excursions to Kauai’s major attractions over the Na Pali Coast and Waimea Canyon. The Na Pali Coast, known for jagged green cliffs laced with towering waterfalls, is one of the most visited attractions on Kauai, the fourth-largest island in the Hawaiian chain.

Reporting by Maria Caspani and Peter Szekely in New York and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Leslie Adler

China’s Sixth Prototype C919 Jet Completes First Test Flight

December 27, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

BEIJING (Reuters) – The sixth prototype of China’s home-built C919 narrowbody passenger plane completed its first test flight on Friday, marking a milestone in the programme’s testing schedule as China races to compete with Airbus SE and Boeing Co.

The sixth prototype is the last test plane its manufacturer, the Commercial Aircraft Corp of China Ltd (COMAC), has planned for the programme and was scheduled to fly before the year-end. Currently, there are five test planes that are conducting test flights elsewhere in the country.

The maiden flight on Friday from Shanghai lasted two hours and five minutes, COMAC said in a press release, adding that the jet will be conducting more test flights with a focus on cabin, lighting and external noises.

COMAC has already started production of aircraft parts which will be used for the first batch of aircraft deliveries, it said.

The state manufacturer is aiming to obtain Chinese certification for the C919 in 2021, but the date was subject to regulatory approval and the aircraft’s safety remains a top priority, according to COMAC officials.

He Dongfeng, the Communist Party boss of COMAC, wrote in a state-owned newspaper in December that aircraft safety is key to the survival of COMAC.

Designed to compete directly with the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737 families in the market for jets with around 150 seats, the C919 is the speartip of China’s efforts to break a powerful decades-old Western duopoly.

The Boeing 737 MAX remains globally grounded following two fatal crashes that killed a total of 346 people.

(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Brenda Goh; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)

thyssenkrupp Sells Elevator Technology Business for €17.2 Billion

United Beats Wall Street Expectations Despite 737 MAX Delays

Remains of 6 Recovered from Hawaii Helicopter Crash

TOURISTS FROM TWO FAMILIES

China’s Sixth Prototype C919 Jet Completes First Test Flight

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