02 Dec 06. Hampson Industries, the aerospace and engineering group, has paid £12m for a US aircraft material specialist as it seeks to take advantage of the shift towards advanced plastics and carbon fibres in jet manufacturing. Boeing and Airbus, the biggest passenger jet makers, are steadily increasing the proportion of composite materials used in their aircraft instead of aluminium, as are military jet makers such as Lockheed Martin. Howard Kimberley, Hampson’s finance director, said the acquisition of Composites Horizons, which makes materials used in the engine on Lockheed’s Joint Strike Fighter, meant composites now accounted for about a third of his company’s sales. In the six months to September 30, sales rose 49 per cent to £68m. Pre-tax profits were £1.25m (£688,000) and earnings per share were 0.93p (0.89p). The shares, which have risen 26 per cent in the past year, rose 5¾p to 161p. (Source: FT.com)
04 Dec 06. Qualcomm Inc. is buying two chip businesses that could take the company into new wireless markets and strengthen its position against Intel Corp. and other rivals. The San Diego company is buying closely held Airgo Networks Inc., a start-up that specializes in Wi-Fi wireless technology, which connects laptops to the Internet. Qualcomm is also buying some operations of RF Micro Devices Inc., which makes Bluetooth technology that is used for wirelessly linking earpieces to cellphones. Terms weren’t immediately disclosed. The dollar value is probably small, but the transactions could have a big impact on Qualcomm’s plans to help mobile devices move easily among different kinds of communications networks. (Source: WSJ)
04 Dec 06. With a turnover of € 1.3bn, Rohde & Schwarz achieved a nearly 18 percent increase in fiscal year 2005/2006 compared with the previous year. The electronics company thus continues its success story. The dynamic growth was generally stimulated by North America and Asia, testifying to the company’s increasing internationalization. The number of employees rose from 6,400 to 6,900. The independent family-owned company continuously expanded its worldwide service and sales network in the last years. More than 90 percent of the market is served by Rohde & Schwarz subsidiaries. In addition to the central R&D organization in Germany, smaller R&D centers keep Rohde & Schwarz worldwide on the pulse of the times in technology. For example, a team in China is co-developing the TD-SCDMA mobile radio standard there. Separate development teams in the USA, the UK, Denmark, Singapore and Korea support the introduction of new standards, products and applications. As one of the leaders in technology in each of its four business fields, Rohde & Schwarz was able to strengthen its market position worldwide. Innovative products as well as the expanded sales and development network were the significant forces behind the growth in North America and Asia. These regions had a considerable bearing on the company’s continuing growth. Rohde & Schwarz significantly increased investments in R&D by 13 percent compared with the previous year. Michael Vohrer, President & CEO, explains: “Short innovation cycles and our close customer relationships are the main key to success. We succeeded in strengthening our position in T&M, secure communications, broadcasting, as well as radiomonitoring and radiolocation worldwide.” Progressive digitization and the rollout of mobile TV increased turnover primarily in the Broadcasting Division. The Test and Measurement Division profited from new transmission standards such as WiMAX or from the high speed packet access (HSPA) mobile radio standard, which offer a wide range of applications to its users. An increased security awareness in secure communications as well as in radio communications and radiolocation further strengthened the company’s leading market position. The number of employees increased from 6,400 to 6,900.
06 Dec 06. KMW Targets Blohm + Voss Tank Activities. German