29 Oct 12. Saab to Acquire Medav. Defence and security company Saab AB has acquired 100 percent of the German company Medav, specialised in the application of signal processing, pattern recognition and information technology, for approximately MEUR27 (about MSEK229). The acquisition strengthens Saab’s product portfolio within radio monitoring and intelligence fusion systems. Medav is a leading provider of signal, electronic and communication intelligence. The acquisition advances Saab’s position in radio monitoring and intelligence fusion systems and strengthens the market presence globally as well as in Europe. The acquisition provides a growth platform from which Saab can build on the combined installed base and skills in systems engineering, design and integration. Medav customers and partners will benefit from Saab’s overall product portfolio and global support operations. (Source: ASD Network)
01 Nov 12. Chemring alert takes edge off FTSE gains. The trend for profit warnings from companies exposed to falling government spending and the faltering economy became more established as Chemring Group said its annual profit would miss expectations. The maker of defence equipment said delays with new contracts and problems with existing ones meant it reduced its earnings per share forecast by 26 per cent. (Source: FT.com)
29 Oct 12. Hawker Beechcraft Inc. expects to make a decision on shedding its jet business by the end of the year as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring, the company’s chairman said. Acquisition talks between Hawker and Superior Aviation Beijing Co. collapsed earlier this month, prompting Hawker to plan to emerge as a stand-alone company through its restructuring, which first began in May. As part of that process, the new company, to be dubbed Beechcraft Corp., will spin off or close its jet products line, which was particularly hard hit by the recession. (Source: WSJ)
02 Nov 12. Meggitt braced for revenue slowdown. As a result, Meggitt on Friday cautioned that it expected to report “mid-single digit” percentage growth in 2013, down from 10 per cent this year. The revenue growth expectations are a marked slowdown from 2010, when Meggitt reported a 25 per cent increase in sales, or 12 per cent on an organic basis. Meggitt, whose core business remains the manufacture of brakes and wheels for
aircraft, said that stronger orders at its energy business had “more than offset the continued softness in civil aerospace after-market revenues”. But in its trading update for the four months to November 1, Meggitt added: “We are also now starting to see the anticipated effects of the drawdown from Iraq and Afghanistan impacting our military revenues.” Meggitt said that 2012 margins were expected to be “broadly in line” with last year’s 24.7 per cent, in spite of softening demand for its post-sales services and poor foreign exchange rates due to the strong Swiss franc. As part of the group’s attempts to boost its presence in the energy sector it signed in August a $100m deal with Brazilian oil group Petrobras to provide machines for conducting heat away from equipment on board oil platforms. Meggitt’s energy division, which specialises in circuit heat exchangers, accounts for 9 per cent of the group’s total revenues – a figure that the group hopes to push to about 15 per cent by 2015. At the same time, Meggitt is decreasing its reliance on its core aircraft braking systems, which earn about 30 per cent of group operating profits, down from 40 per cent in 2010. Sandy Morris, analyst at Jefferies, said: “Today’s statement appears to inject a little more caution relative to the outlook provided at the first half. That is not surprising given the softness evident in the civil aerospace after-market. “Meggitt is performing well, but we believe that some expectations may require to be tempered a little.” (Source: FT.com)
01 Nov 12. Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE:CW) and Williams Controls (NYSE:WMCO) join