BUSINESS NEWS
14 Jul 08. Tom Enders, chief executive of Airbus, has denounced the French authorities’ investigation of alleged insider trading by 17 present and former executives at the European aircraft maker and its parent company EADS. “This is a show trial. This is bad theatre. This needs to be said,” he said on the eve of the Farnborough air show. A criminal investigation has been underway for more than 18 months into executive share sales in the months ahead of a shock profit warning by EADS in June 2006. Louis Gallois, chief executive of EADS since last autumn, said in an interview with the Financial Times that he was concerned that “the morale of the people in the company could be hurt by this constant pressure”. “These guys are not guilty. There is no judgment. You cannot be guilty without judgment and we will defend them as [best] we can. We are confident they will be able to find good arguments to defend themselves.” (Source: FT.com)
14 Jul 08. GKN Aerospace 2007/8 business wins exceed USD2.5bn – All 2007 growth targets met or exceeded. In the 18 months since the beginning of 2007 GKN Aerospace gained new business with a value over USD2.5bn. By the end of 2007 the Company had reached its 5 year target declared in 2002, of doubling turnover to exceed USD2bn. The GKN Aerospace long term business plan focuses around its three core business areas. Aerostructures represents just over 55% of the total business with propulsion systems at 27%. The remaining 18% covers a number of specialist product areas and includes: transparencies, where the Company has a global lead in both military and civil sectors; electro-thermal ice protection, where GKN Aerospace is pioneering the systems technology; and emergency flotation and flexible fuel systems, both areas where the Company has a market lead and has introduced major new technological innovations this year.
15 Jul 08. Saab divests Saab Space to RUAG. Saab AB divests 100 percent of the shares in Saab Space AB including its subsidiary Austrian Aerospace to the Swiss company RUAG Holding AG. The divestment requires approval of competition authorities before completion. “As early as in November 2007, Saab concluded that there were reasons to consider a sale. Saab Space is well managed and profitable, but we have not been able to reach sufficient synergies with other operations within Saab and as a result not the desired possibilities of growth and profit. It was considered to be a good time to act since a consolidation process in the European space industry is ongoing. At Saab we put up two conditions to carry through a sale: To find a professional buyer with the ambition to further develop the operations and to get a fair price. With RUAG we have been able to reach an agreement that fulfils both conditions. The price is acceptable and RUAG is a company that in our view has the capability of further developing the operations of Saab Space and Austrian Aerospace.” says Saab CEO Åke Svensson. The purchase price for the shares amounts to 335 MSEK. In addition to the fixed purchase price, Saab is entitled to an additional consideration related to the long-term positive performance of Saab Space. The transaction will generate a capital gain to Saab during 2008 of approximately 100m SEK. Saab Space is a leading independent supplier of highly qualified space equipment: Computer systems, Antennas and Microwave electronics for satellites and Adapters and separation systems for launchers. Saab Space is headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, with a division for mechanical systems located in Linköping, Sweden. Saab Space also has a fully owned subsidiary in Vienna, Austria, named Austrian Aerospace, focused on digital signal processing, thermal hardware, mechanisms and mechanical ground support equipment. In 2007, more than 90 percent of Saab Space sales represented exports.
16 Jul 08. SI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SINT) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Arr