26 Mar 20. Meggitt (MGGT) is withdrawing its final 11.95p dividend declared for 2019 in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The group says it is also taking other measures to reduce costs and manage cash flow to strengthen its financial position. (Source: Investors Chronicle)
26 Mar 20. UTC, Raytheon deal wins U.S. antitrust approval, with divestitures. The U.S. Justice Department has approved United Technologies Corporation’s (UTX.N) planned merger with Raytheon Co (RTN.N), subject to conditions, the agency said on Thursday.
UTC agreed in June to combine its aerospace business with U.S. contractor Raytheon and create a new company worth about $121bn (99.5bn pounds), in what would be the sector’s biggest ever merger. It won EU antitrust approval earlier in March.
To win U.S. approval, the companies agreed to divest Raytheon’s military airborne radios business, including facilities in Indiana and Florida, and UTC’s military global positioning systems, including a facility in Connecticut.
The businesses are to be sold to BAE Systems Inc or another buyer approved by the Justice Department. The companies are the only Defense Department suppliers for military airborne radios and military GPS systems for air and sea, the Justice Department said. The Justice Department said that the two companies were among the few companies that made components for certain military satellites, including those that warn of missile launches. Because of this, the department also required the companies to sell UTC’s big space-based optical systems businesses. (Source: Reuters)
25 Mar 20. Embraer delivered 35 commercial jets and 46 executive jets (20 light and 26 large) in 4Q19, and in 2019 delivered 89 commercial jets and 109 executive jets (62 light and 47 large), meeting guidance for 2019;
- The Company’s firm order backlog at the end of 4Q19 was US$ 16.8bn, an increase compared to the US$ 16.2bn reported at the end of 3Q19 and US$ 16.3bn reported at the end of 4Q18;
- Revenues in 4Q19 reached US$ 2,085.0m and for fiscal year 2019 were US$ 5,462.6m, in line with the Company’s stated 2019 guidance for revenues of US$ 5.3 – US$ 5.7bn;
- 4Q19 Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted EBITDA were US$ 4.0m and US$ 65.8m, respectively, yielding Adjusted EBIT margin of 0.2% and Adjusted EBITDA margin of 3.2%;
- For 2019, Adjusted EBIT and Adjusted EBITDA were US$ (5.4)m and US$ 181.9m, respectively. Adjusted EBIT margin for the year was -0.1% and Adjusted EBITDA margin was 3.3%. Embraer’s Adjusted EBIT margin for 2019 reached the guidance level of approximately breakeven;
- 4Q19 Net loss attributable to Embraer shareholders and Loss per ADS were US$ (209.8)m and US$ (1.14) per share, respectively. Adjusted net loss (excluding deferred income tax and social contribution and special items) for 4Q19 was US$ (93.4)m, with Adjusted loss per ADS of US$ (0.51). Embraer’s 2019 adjusted net loss was US$ (217.5)m, and adjusted loss per ADS was US$ (1.18);
- Embraer generated record free cash flow of US$ 739.4m in 4Q19, finishing 2019 with adjusted free cash flow usage of US$ (181.8)m, within the guidance of US$ (300)m to US$ (100)m.
- The Company finished 2019 with strong liquidity with a total cash position of US$ 2,779.9m. Embraer’s 4Q19 total debt of US$ 3,392.3 m had an average maturity of almost five years, yielding a net debt position of US$ 612.4m vs. US$ 1,347.2m of net debt in 3Q19;
- Due to the uncertainty related to the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 virus, the Company is suspending its 2020 guidance.
25 Mar 20. RAFAEL Advanced Defense Systems Ltd. posts its financial results today (Thursday) for FY 2019, amid the COVID-19 global crisis, with record sales of $2.7bn, an increase of %3.9 compared to 2018. The company’s orders totaled $2.8bn (10 bn Shekels), with record high export orders, and an order backlog of $7.2bn (24.8 bn Shekels), equivalent to 2.5 sales years, despite the significant depreciation in the Dollar- and Euro-to-Shekel exchange rates. In addition, in 2019, the company handed over a dividend of some 500m Shekels to the Israeli government. In 2019, RAFAEL continued to press ahead with extensive marketing and business activities in Israel and around the world, including the acquisition of UAV manufacturer Aeronautics and other companies, as well as numerous other activities.
RAFAEL PRESIEDNT & CEO, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Yoav Har-Even: “As RAFAEL concludes the 2019 fiscal year, in addition to its significant contribution to developing and providing defense technologies, it is also engaged in the effort to find solutions for the COVID-19 and against its spread. We are certain that the company’s financial robustness will ensure its ability to face the coming uncertainties and challenges. These days, thanks to adequate preparation, we are able to carry out our work, while adhering to the Ministry of Health’s directives, and to maintain our commitments, with the relentless hard work of our outstanding men and women who consider this effort their mission.”
In the past year, RAFAEL made a number of other significant achievements, including the sale of two Iron Dome batteries to the US Army, and an on-time delivery of the US Army’s first TROPHY Active Protection Systems. In 2019, RAFAEL received an urgent order from India for the supply of SPIKE missile systems, and a major order for SPIKE from Germany, while expanding its SPIKE user-base to 34 nations. The company signed a number of important JV’s, and posted an increase in the number of users of its Litening Pod. Domestically, RAFAEL won a strategic contract for a multi-domain project with the Israeli MOD, and was also awarded the Israel Defense Prize for its SPICE 1000 air-to-surface system.
RAFAEL’s investment in its manpower continued in 2019, recruiting over 800 new employees, primarily in technological fields, with 9% of its sales channeled to R&D of defense and civilian technologies, which also entailed vast cooperation with academic bodies in Israel and around the world.
Dr. Uzi Landau, Chairman of RAFAEL: “Our human resource is the engine that propels us to achieve our mission and our vision, to find new solutions and breakthroughs, and to fulfill our goals, all while dealing with the newly-imposed reality. The dedication of our men and women, those at home and those who are still attending work, and the commitment that we as management have towards them, are the secret behind our force and our ability to cope with the impact of COVID-19.”
26 Mar 20. UK engineer Senior scraps dividend amid coronavirus fallout. British aerospace engineer Senior Plc (SNR.L) said it was scrapping its dividend to save cash to deal with the expected impact of the coronavirus crisis on demand from its customers, including planemaker Boeing.
Senior said in a statement on Thursday that it was taking other cost cutting actions such as reducing capital expenditure as it warned that trading for the rest of 2020 would be impacted and it was suspending its guidance for this year. (Source: Reuters)
24 Mar 20. AAR Reports Record Third Quarter Fiscal Year 2020 Results.
– Third quarter sales of $553m, up 4% from $530m in Q3 FY2019
– Third quarter GAAP and adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations of $0.07 and $0.67, respectively
– Adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations up 8% from Q3 FY2019
– Third quarter cash flow from operating activities from continuing operations of $10m
AAR CORP. (NYSE: AIR) today reported third quarter Fiscal Year 2020 consolidated sales of $553.1m and income from continuing operations of $2.6m, or $0.07 per diluted share. Third quarter results included a predominantly non-cash pretax charge of $24.7m primarily resulting from restructuring and exiting underperforming contracts in commercial programs. For the third quarter of the prior year, the Company reported sales of $529.5m and income from continuing operations of $27.4m, or $0.78 per diluted share. Our adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.67 in the current quarter compared to $0.62 in the third quarter of the prior year.
Consolidated sales increased 4% over the prior year period due to continued growth across our Aviation Services segment, which experienced sales growth of 7%. Excluding the sales impact of the restructuring actions of $9.8m, Aviation Services sales grew 9% during the quarter primarily from execution on our government contracts. Sales to government and defense customers represented 35% of our consolidated sales in the current quarter compared to 33% in the prior year quarter reflecting growth from new government programs.
“While we saw record results during our third quarter, our attention is focused on the unprecedented impact to our airline customers from COVID-19. Our strategy to maintain a balanced portfolio across the government, commercial and cargo markets, along with our strong balance sheet, including net leverage of 0.9x, liquidity of over $425m and no meaningful debt maturities until September 2024, sets us up well to navigate the COVID-19 impact. We are in discussions with our airline customers and will actively manage our costs to align with the current reality,” said John M. Holmes, President and Chief Executive Officer of AAR CORP.
As indicated earlier, during the third quarter, we took actions to improve the long-term operating performance in our commercial programs activities. These actions will reduce our costs, free up capital and allow for margin improvement upon the recovery of the commercial airline market.
In the fourth quarter, we will be taking actions to reduce our fixed costs and overhead by consolidating facilities with the goal to improve our operating efficiencies. Further, in response to the impact of COVID-19, we have taken actions including reducing executive compensation, freezing new hiring, reducing or eliminating all non-essential spend, furloughs and, unfortunately, reducing our workforce. We expect the cost of these fourth quarter actions to be approximately $15 to $20m with the payback of these actions realized within one year. We remain prepared to take additional action as warranted to respond to the evolving airline demand environment.
Also during the third quarter, we announced multiple new contract wins including:
- Multiyear distribution agreement with AeroControlex, a large manufacturer of critical components to the aviation industry
- Expansion of our airframe maintenance services with Air Canada including plans to add A330 maintenance capability to our operations in Quebec
- Sole-source Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract award with an estimated value of $90 m from the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support to produce specialized shipping/storage containers and accessories
Holmes concluded, “We have worked very hard to build an exceptional team at AAR and I am very proud of our accomplishments. As we enter this uncertain time, we are making very difficult decisions that involve sacrifices by our employees and I want to thank our people for their commitment and flexibility. I also have been in dialogue with members of the House, Senate and the Administration regarding potential aid to the broader aviation industry and we are particularly supportive of any measures aimed at preserving jobs. I am confident we will emerge as an even stronger company as a result of the quality and dedication of our team.”
Outlook
Given the current macro uncertainty from the impact of COVID-19, we believe it is prudent to withdraw our guidance for the balance of the year. (Source: PR Newswire)
24 Mar 20. Citadel Defense Expands Production to 50 Systems a Month. Citadel Defense continues to experience rapid growth after being awarded several significant Defense and Homeland Security contracts for its C-UAS (counter unmanned aircraft systems) solutions.
To address the surge in global demand for Titan systems, Citadel has expanded their manufacturing capabilities in San Diego, CA to support production of up to 50 Titan systems a month. The company uses U.S. suppliers with over 70% of components being sourced locally in Southern California in order to improve responsiveness when executing on urgent customer requests.
“Designing agility into our product development process from the beginning has allowed us to iterate in real-time alongside our customers and rapidly deploy new capabilities to improve mission outcomes,” says Christopher Williams, CEO of Citadel Defense.
Titan C-UAS systems are deployed globally, protecting combat forces, civilians, and critical infrastructure. As radiofrequency-based solutions become an important requirement for layered C-UAS solutions, Citadel has had their capabilities extensively evaluated by U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, SOCOM, and DHS Test & Evaluation teams.
“Designing our system to meet unpredictable mission scenarios was made possible by direct feedback from operators experiencing drone incursions on the front lines,” explained Williams. “The threat environment is always evolving which requires a product development approach that can adapt and respond. A combination of human-centered design and AI-powered technology have helped Citadel differentiate ourselves from traditional Defense contractors.”
Malicious drone activity, ranging from single-use hostile small unmanned aerial systems to drone swarms continue to threaten safety and national security. Over the past 18 months alone, Citadel has received orders for over $17.5m in products and services to support anti-drone initiatives around the world. (Source: UAS VISION)
24 Mar 20. Threod Systems Launches Two New Divisions. As part of continuous strategy and global expansion, Threod Systems announces Cloud ISR and Homeland Security ISR. Two unique divisions tailored to demanding market needs.
COO Martin Jõesaar wrote, “We have expanded our internal growth across all departments with key hires who have the industry understanding to compliment the addition of these divisions. The level of investment is unprecedented in our industry showing our commitment for success in these market sectors”.
The ever-growing demand for UAS gimbals and sub-systems, has powered the idea, that has now become a reality, establishing Cloud ISR. Threod System´s subsidiary that focuses on making military grade and NATO compliant ISR solutions available to the law enforcement and commercial markets, both manned and unmanned.
The product range will include easy integrated powerful gimbals, payload solutions, ground data terminals, control stations, launchers, and other UAS accessories. As well as, training, consultancy and lifetime support.
Chief Strategy Officer Rory Bauer adds, “These two new divisions compliment an already growing market share that Threod Systems is an integral part of. The divisions will allow customers the opportunity to have dedicated Gimbals and subsystems particular to specific project needs. Cloud ISR allows us to focus in the markets that demand the highest quality ISR solutions”.
The expertise of Cloud ISR is based on the formidable foundation that has been created and cultivated by Threod Systems. All Threod Systems products are highly interoperable, which gives the unique ability to create solutions for Cloud ISR that can be integrated into other UAVs, UGVs and unmanned systems effortlessly.
Homeland Security ISR can now bring proven aerospace and defense unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) created for military applications to the growing security, law enforcement and commercial sectors. The vertical and straightforward focus on one specific segment helps to accentuate the specific needs of first responders and provide the right solutions for specific operational requirements.
CEO Arno Vaik writes, “This has been long in development and we are pleased to enter different sectors of the market and diversify our vast portfolio of much needed products. With Homeland Security ISR, we focus all our professionalism and expertise in one vertical”.
The best practices and know-how of Threod Systems are carefully selected and tailored to perfection in order to provide first responders with superior solutions at unprecedented value. Our company’s mission is to assist and support first responders to excel, stay safe and save lives, and to be “First Responder’s First Choice”. (Source: UAS VISION)
24 Mar 20. L3Harris Technologies Signs Definitive Agreement to Sell EOTech to an Affiliate of Koucar Management. L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) today announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which American Holoptics, an affiliate of Koucar Management, will acquire the EOTech business. With annual revenues of approximately $60m, EOTech manufactures holographic sighting systems, magnified field optics and accessories for military, law enforcement and commercial markets around the world. EOTechInc.com. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2020 and is conditioned on customary closing conditions. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
24 Mar 20. Administrator extends deadline for Piaggio bids. Piaggio Aerospace’s administrator has extended the deadline for parties to submit expressions of interest in the Italian manufacturer on the back of disruption caused by the coronavirus outbreak. In a statement issued on 24 March, extraordinary commissioner Vincenzo Nicastro says the one-month extension, from 3 April to 4 May, was made “in view of the ongoing Covid-19 epidemiological emergency”.
Italy has been ravaged by the pandemic, and Piaggio says it began on 22 March a two-week closure of its sites – including its Villanova d’Albegna production and MRO facility near Genoa – “to enact further sanitation activities”.
While the Italian government is allowing defence and aerospace companies to remain operational during the crisis “we are keeping the company closed until 29 March, so we have the time to organise our production activities to the highest health protection standards,” says Piaggio.
Piaggio entered extraordinary receivership – a process in Italy specifically aimed at industrial insolvency and company restructuring – in December 2018, after Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala, its sole shareholder, pulled out.
Forty companies have already expressed an interest in acquiring all or part of the firm following an April 2019 call from Nicastro, for “non-binding” commitments.
He aims is to sell Piaggio in its entirety”, and to “find a buyer who can offer a solid, long-lasting recovery and development plan”.
Piaggio has a lifeline package of orders and commitments from the Italian government worth €900mi ($980m). These have been secured by the commissioner to make the airframer more attractive to a potential buyer.
Piaggio’s only aircraft are the P180 Avanti twin-pusher and its unmanned surveillance variant, the P1HH Hammerhead. (Source: Google/Flight Global)
24 Mar 20. Elbit Systems Ltd. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ and TASE: ESLT), the international high technology company, reported today its consolidated results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2019. In this release, the Company is providing US-GAAP results as well as additional non-GAAP financial data, which are intended to provide investors a more comprehensive understanding of the Company’s business results and trends. For a description of the Company’s non-GAAP definitions see page 6 below, “Non-GAAP financial data”. Unless otherwise stated, all financial data presented is US-GAAP financial data.
Bezhalel (Butzi) Machlis, President and CEO of Elbit Systems, commented: “We are pleased with the solid revenue growth across all our major end-markets in 2019 and a record backlog that grew by 7% to over $10 bn for the first time. To date we have not experienced a material impact on our ongoing business from the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we continue to monitor the situation, including its macro-economic impacts, and have initiated a series of measures to protect our employees while maintaining our ongoing commitments to our customers. Looking forward into 2020 and beyond, Elbit Systems is a strong and stable business, with a healthy balance sheet and a broad long-term backlog that should support our globally diversified sales.”
Acquisition of L3Harris Technologies (the Night Vision Business)
On September 2019, we completed the acquisition of the night vision business of L3Harris Technologies (the Night Vision Business) for a purchase price of approximately $350m. Located in Roanoke, Virginia, the Night Vision Business is engaged in the development, production and supply of night vision technology for the U.S. and allied military and security forces and for the U.S. federal homeland security market. Following the acquisition, the Night Vision Business operates as Elbit Night Vision (“ENV”). The financial results of ENV were included in our consolidated reports commencing the date of the acquisition. In the fourth quarter of 2019, following the completion of the acquisition of ENV we recorded expenses of $55m in our Cost of Revenues. These expenses were mainly related to inventory write-offs. The expenses were eliminated in the non-GAAP results due to their non-recurring nature.
Fourth quarter 2019 results:
Revenues in the fourth quarter of 2019 were $1,321.5m, as compared to $1,077.8m in the fourth quarter of 2018. Growth in the quarter was driven by the contributions of ENV and IMI Systems Ltd. (“IMI”), as well as growth in our legacy businesses.
Non-GAAP(*) gross profit amounted to $345.8m (26.2% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $306.7 m (28.5% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $284.3m (21.5% of revenues), as compared to $234.9m (21.8% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. The gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 2018 included expenses of $55.0 and $66.6m, respectively, related to the acquisition of ENV in 2019 and IMI in 2018.
Research and development expenses, net were $97.6m (7.4% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $73.0m (6.8% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Marketing and selling expenses, net were $80.5m (6.1% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $73.5m (6.8% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
General and administrative expenses, net were $46.4m (3.5% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $49.8m (4.6% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. The lower level of general and administrative expenses in the fourth quarter of 2019 resulted mainly from income related to settlement of litigation in the U.S.
Non-GAAP(*) operating income was $125.4m (9.5% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $112.5 m (10.4% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $63.6m (4.8% of revenues), as compared to $38.6m (3.6% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter of 2019 and 2018 were reduced by $55 and $66.0m, respectively, due to expenses related to the acquisitions of ENV and IMI.
Financial expenses, net were $16.4m in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $14.9m in the fourth quarter of 2018. The increase in financial expenses in the fourth quarter of 2019 was mainly a result of the revaluation of lease liabilities.
Other expenses net were $1.6m in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $6.4m in the fourth quarter of 2018. Other expenses in the fourth quarter of 2018 included expenses of $2.7m related to the acquisitions of IMI.
Taxes on income were a tax benefit of $9.1m in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to a tax expense of $3.9m in the fourth quarter of 2018. The tax benefit in the fourth quarter of 2019 was related mainly to adjustments for prior years following tax assessments in the Company and some of its subsidiaries in Israel.
The net losses of affiliated companies and partnerships was $3.5m in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $11.4m the fourth quarter of 2018. The loss in the fourth quarter of 2018 was mainly a result of a fair value re-evaluation of holdings in an affiliated company.
Net losses attributable to non-controlling interests was a loss of $0.3m in the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to income of $0.9m in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Non-GAAP(*) net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $109.3m (8.3% of revenues), as compared to $84.0m (7.8% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2019 was $51.5m (3.9% of revenues), as compared to $1.1m (0.1% of revenues) in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Non GAAP(*) diluted net earnings per share attributable to the Company’s shareholders were $2.47 for the fourth quarter of 2019, as compared to $1.96 for the fourth quarter of 2018. GAAP diluted earnings per share attributable to the Company’s shareholders in the fourth quarter of 2019 were $1.16, as compared to $0.03 in the fourth quarter of 2018.
Full year 2019 results:
Revenues for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $4,508.4m, as compared to $3,683.7m in the year ended December 31, 2018. The leading contributors to revenue growth were the airborne systems and land systems areas of operation. The increase in revenues in the airborne systems area of operation was primarily due to increased sales of commercial avionics equipment in the U.S. of a subsidiary that was acquired in the second quarter of 2018. Additionally there was an increase of sales in the U.S. of military avionic equipment for airborne platforms. Revenues from land systems increased primarily due to an increase in sales of land electronic warfare systems and armored vehicle systems in Europe and the revenues of IMI to Israel.
On a geographic basis, the increase in North America was mainly a result of higher sales of airborne systems and revenues of commercial avionics and programs for military airborne platforms. The increase in Israel was mainly a result of revenues of IMI. The increase in Asia-Pacific was mainly a result of higher sales of remote weapon systems, radios and artillery systems.
Cost of revenues for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $3,371.9m (74.8% of revenues), as compared to $2,707.5m (73.5% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. Cost of revenues in 2019 and 2018 included expenses of $55.0 and $66.6m, respectively, related to the acquisition of ENV in 2019 and of IMI in 2018.
Non-GAAP(*) gross profit for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1,213.5m (26.9% of revenues), as compared to $1,061.9m (28.8% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. GAAP gross profit in 2019 was $1,136.5m (25.2% of revenues), as compared to $976.2m (26.5% of revenues) in 2018. The decline in 2019 gross margins relative to 2018 was due to a less favorable sales mix and a lower gross margin at IMI.
Research and development expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $331.8m (7.4% of revenues), as compared to $287.4m (7.8% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018.
Marketing and selling expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $301.4m (6.7% of revenues), as compared to $281.0m (7.6% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018.
General and administrative expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $214.7m (4.8% of revenues), as compared to $160.3m (4.4% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. The higher level of general and administrative expenses in 2019 was mainly a result of consolidation of expenses in subsidiaries that were acquired in 2018 and 2019, which was partly offset by income related to settlement of litigation in the U.S.
Other operating income, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 amounted to $33.0m as compared to $45.4m for the year ended December 31, 2018. Other operating income in 2019 was mainly a result of a capital gain related to the sale and lease back of buildings by a subsidiary in Israel. Other operating income in 2018 was the result of net gains related to deconsolidation of two of our Israeli subsidiaries in the commercial cyber and medical instrumentation areas, due to third party investments.
Non-GAAP(*) operating income for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $379.7m (8.4% of revenues), as compared to $340.7m (9.2% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. GAAP operating income in 2019 was $321.6m (7.1% of revenues), as compared to $292.8m (7.9% of revenues) in 2018.
Financial expenses, net for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $69.1m, as compared to $44.1m in the year ended December 31, 2018. Financial expenses, net in 2019 included exchange rate differences of approximately $23.1m related to the recognition of lease liabilities denominated in foreign currencies (mainly in New Israeli Shekels) as a result of the adoption of ASC 842, Leases, effective January 1, 2019.
Other expenses, net were $6.2m in 2019 as compared to $11.4m in 2018. Other expenses in 2018 included write-off impairment of $7.8m in investments in two affiliated Israeli companies. Other expenses in 2019 were mainly due to the non-service cost components of pension plans, in accordance with ASU 2017-07.
Taxes on income for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $19.4m (effective tax rate of 7.9%), as compared to $26.4m (effective tax rate of 11.1%) in the year ended December 31, 2018. The effective tax rate was affected by the mix of the tax rates in the various jurisdictions in which the Company’s entities generate taxable income and other income that is not part of the taxable income mainly related to non-cash items such as impairment of assets. Taxes on income in 2019 were reduced by a tax benefit related to adjustments for prior years following a tax settlement of the Company and some of its subsidiaries in Israel with Israeli tax authorities.
Equity in net earnings (losses) of affiliated companies and partnerships for the year ended December 31, 2019 was income of $1.8m (0.1% of revenues), as compared to equity in net losses of $2.2m (0.1% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. The loss in 2018 was mainly a result of a $9.7m re-evaluation of the fair value of an investment in an affiliated company.
Net income attributable to non-controlling interests for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $0.8m, as compared to $1.9m in the year ended December 31, 2018.
Non-GAAP(*) net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $297.8m (6.6% of revenues), as compared to $267.5m (7.3% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018. GAAP net income attributable to the Company’s shareholders in the year ended December 31, 2019 was $227.9m (5.1% of revenues), as compared to $206.7m (5.6% of revenues) in the year ended December 31, 2018.
Non-GAAP(*) diluted net earnings per share attributable to the Company’s shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2019 were $6.79, as compared to $6.25 for the year ended December 31, 2018. GAAP diluted net earnings per share attributable to the Company’s shareholders in the year ended December 31, 2019 were $5.20, as compared to $4.83 in the year ended December 31, 2018.
Backlog of orders for the year ended December 31, 2019 totaled $10,02m, as compared to $9,399m as of December 31, 2018. Approximately 61% of the current backlog is attributable to orders from outside Israel. Approximately 65% of the current backlog is scheduled to be performed during 2020 and 2021.
Operating cash flow used in the year ended December 31, 2019 was $53.3m, as compared to $191.7m net cash provided in the year ended December 31, 2018. The lower level of operating cash flow in 2019 was mainly a result of lower collection of receipts and advances received from customers mainly in Israel.
24 Mar 20. Boeing CEO does not want U.S. to take stake in company after coronavirus stimulus. Boeing Co (BA.N) Chief Executive Dave Calhoun said on Tuesday he does not want the U.S. Treasury to take an equity stake in the planemaker as a condition of government loans as credit markets freeze amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I don’t have a need for an equity stake,” Calhoun told Fox Business. “If they force it, we just look at all the other options and we’ve got plenty of them.”
Boeing has sought $60bn in U.S. government loans for itself and the aerospace industry. Congress could reach agreement on a stimulus and rescue package worth up to $2trn to respond to the massive economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic as soon as today.
“There are a lot of options for us in the private markets etcetera, but the credit markets have to be open,” Calhoun told CNBC, noting that Boeing “has $15 bn in the bank.”
U.S. lawmakers have said they could demand equity, warrants or options as a condition of government loans.
“If they attach too many things to do it, of course you take a different course.” he told Fox Business.
Calhoun said he wants the government to allow Boeing to borrow funds and the government would collect interest. “We want to pay everything back,” he said.
Boeing shares rose nearly 16% on Tuesday, but the stock is still down more than 60% in the last month.
Last week, S&P downgraded Boeing’s credit and warned the coronavirus outbreak could hit Boeing’s cash flow further, as airline customers cancel flights and defer aircraft orders due to a plunge in travel demand.
The ratings agency lowered the credit rating on the planemaker to ‘BBB’ from ‘A-‘ and now expects 2020 free cash flow in a range of negative $11bn to $12bn, down from a prior estimate of positive $2bn.
Boeing said on Monday it will halt production for two weeks at its twin-aisle jetliner factory in Washington state due to the spread of coronavirus. It accounts for about 80% of Boeing’s production, Calhoun said.
Calhoun said separately the 737 MAX is on track for a return to service for mid-year.
“We’re very close to the finish line,” Calhoun told CNBC of the plane that has been grounded for a year after two fatal crashes in five months. (Source: Reuters)
24 Mar 20. Boeing CFO says aerospace industry needs credit urgently, markets closed to new debt. Boeing Co’s (BA.N) chief financial officer said on Tuesday the U.S. aerospace industry urgently needs credit to cope with the coronavirus pandemic but “markets essentially are closed” to new debt.
Greg Smith also stressed the strategic value of a $4.2bn (3.6bn pounds) deal to acquire the commercial planemaking arm of Embraer (EMBR3.SA), driving up shares in the Brazilian group.
The comments on credit in an interview with Reuters appeared to underscore the U.S. planemaker’s opposition to granting equity as part of an industry-wide government bailout deal.
U.S. lawmakers have said they could demand stock or equity-based instruments like warrants or options as a condition of government loans.
“Having access to the credit markets is really important for us right now,” Boeing CFO Greg Smith said when asked whether Boeing could issue such instruments in return for support.
Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told Fox Business earlier on Tuesday that Boeing could “take a different course” if lawmakers “attach too many things” to a stimulus package.
Boeing has sought $60bn in U.S. government loans or loan guarantees for itself and the aerospace industry.
Congress was expected reach agreement on a stimulus and rescue package worth up to $2trn to respond to economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic as soon as Tuesday.
Smith said Boeing, which drew down a $13.8 credit line it took in February but has a further $9.6bn in reserve, was not in discussions to add new commercial debt facilities.
“Not right now. The markets essentially are closed,” Smith said. “I mean, there’s really not much opportunity to raise any additional debt. That’s one of the challenges.”
Rating agency Fitch Ratings meanwhile downgraded Boeing to ‘BBB’ from ‘A-‘, citing the rapid escalation of the pandemic and its effect on Boeing’s aviation markets and operations.
Despite such immediate pressures, Smith said Boeing was beginning to see signs of a recovery in China, echoing comments by Airbus (AIR.PA) Chief Executive Guillaume Faury on Monday.
Smith also said a tie-up with Brazil planemaker Embraer (EMBR3.SA) remained strategically important to the company.
“As you know it’s in the middle of regulatory approval and so we are continuing to monitor that and working closely with the Embraer team,” Smith said.
“Strategically, it’s still a great partnership and we have to get through the regulatory hurdles and we’ll see how long that takes. But it still remains a priority for us.”
Shares in Embraer soared as much as 37% on his comments. In later trading they were up 24%. Smith’s comments were the first by a senior Boeing executive since market turmoil raised uncertainty over the deal last week, because of an apparent mismatch between Embraer’s market value and the price that Boeing is due to pay for control of its commercial aircraft unit. The tie-up has also been held up by delays in winning European Union approval. (Source: Reuters)
23 Mar 20. Airbus Announces Measures to Bolster Liquidity and Balance Sheet In Response to COVID-19. Airbus SE announces measures to bolster its liquidity and balance sheet in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it continues to assess the ongoing situation and the impact on its business, customers, suppliers and the industry as a whole.
“Our first priority is protecting people while supporting efforts globally to curb the spread of the coronavirus. We are also safeguarding our business to protect the future of Airbus and to ensure we can return to efficient operations once the situation recovers. We have withdrawn our 2020 guidance due to the volatility of the situation. At the same time, we are committed to securing the liquidity of the Company at all times through a prudent balance sheet policy. I am convinced that Airbus and the broader aerospace sector will overcome this critical period,” said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury.
Reflecting the Company’s prudent balance sheet policy and to ensure financial flexibility, Airbus’ management has received approval from the Board of Directors to:
— secure a new credit facility amounting to €15bn in addition to the existing €3bn revolving credit facility;
— withdraw the 2019 dividend proposal of €1.80 per share with an overall cash value of approximately € 1.4bn; and
— suspend the voluntary top up in pension funding.
Given the limited visibility due to the evolving COVID-19 situation, the 2020 guidance is withdrawn. Operational scenarios, including measures to minimise cash requirements, have been identified and will be activated depending on the further development of the pandemic.
With these decisions, the Company has significant liquidity available to cope with additional cash requirements related to the coronavirus. Liquidity resources previously standing at approximately €20bn, comprising around €12bn in financial assets at hand and around €8bn in undrawn credit lines, were further bolstered by converting an existing €5bn credit line into a new facility amounting to €15bn. Available liquidity now amounts to approximately €30on.
By maintaining production, managing its resilient backlog, supporting its customers and securing financial flexibility for its operations, Airbus intends to secure business continuity for itself even in a protracted crisis. Safe and efficient air travel is a key backbone of global economic development and cultural exchange. Airbus therefore highly welcomes governmental efforts around the globe to stabilise this industry by supporting the financial health of its airline customers and its suppliers. Airbus continues to monitor the overall health of the industry.
Airbus has convened its 2020 Annual General Meeting in Amsterdam on 16 April. Due to the global outbreak of COVID-19, Airbus discourages physical attendance and strongly encourages shareholders to vote by proxy in line with public health and safety measures.
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2019, it generated revenues of €70bn and employed a workforce of around 135,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/Airbus)
23 Mar 20. BAE execs explain the thinking behind their latest acquisition. In late January, Arlington, Virginia-based BAE Systems announced two acquisitions to bolster its electronic systems sector, a move that reflected a combined investment of $2.2bn.
The purchase included $1.9bn for Collins Aerospace’s GPS receivers business and $275m for Raytheon’s tactical airborne radios.
Company leaders saw an opportunity. GPS receivers could provide secure and resilient position data that would help precision-guided munitions become more accurate. Airborne tactical radios, typically installed on rotary, fixed-wing aircraft and drones, would create a new business for BAE’s electronic systems sector.
The properties became available because of a proposed merger between United Technologies and Raytheon, and BAE’s two top executives said they see the purchase as a way to more closely hew their businesses toward the Pentagon’s long-term needs. Specifically, they point to the 2018 National Defense Strategy. A closing is dependent on the Raytheon-United Technologies merger and is expected in the first half of 2020.
C4ISRNET’s Mark Pomerleau spoke recently with Jerry DeMuro, BAE’s chief executive, and Tom Arseneault, company president and chief operating officer, about the thinking behind the investment.
C4ISRNET: How do you see these acquisitions fitting into BAE overall? What opportunities could this create?
Jerry DeMuro: As we look at the National Defense Strategy and we look at the service modernization priorities and where we think customers are headed in our core markets, we think that these two businesses are very relevant. We have capabilities in those areas that these properties complement very well.
Both of them happen to be very mature, well-established, strong technology-based businesses that are on the cusp of significant growth because of the relevance to the service priorities.
[It’s a] unique opportunity [that] only came about because of the UTC-Raytheon merger. We were very pleased to see it [and we were] opportunistic in going after them.
Tom Arseneault: Precision and autonomy are two key things that run through the Defense Strategy and priorities in the services and the technologies that [Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering] Dr. [Mike] Griffin talks about.
With autonomy, you need to know where you are. Position data is important. Secure, resilient position information. Military GPS is a critical underlying technology. With Collins, you’ve got a company that’s been doing this for 40-plus years and a million and a half of these devices are out there going to M-Code [a new military signal used for GPS]. Autonomy, ditto. You need to know where you are … certainly with precision-guided munitions.
You’re also relying on secure communications. You need to know where you are, and you need to be able to communicate with the systems around you.
C4ISRNET: How do you see these new businesses complementing what you already have and allowing you to pursue contracts that you couldn’t before?
DeMuro: We’ve been working for a number of years now — most people don’t know — but we have a precision-guided munitions business.
We provide the seekers for the THAAD [Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense]; we provide all the smarts in terms of combining EW, precision locating and navigating in the LRASM [Long-Range Anti-
Ship] missile. We just won the [Precision Guidance Kit] contract — precision-guided mortar. We are also the provider of the high-velocity projectile and putting these kinds of capabilities in there.
It’s a great fit for that business, but also in many of the other things that we produce. Combining this kind of capability gives us a whole new market that we can bring their capabilities to.
And the same thing applies in the radio world, software-defined radios. We can take some of those waveforms and incorporate them in devices that we have today in our C4ISR portfolio.
It’s not about cost synergies; it’s really about market synergies in those places where we’re headed already.
C4ISRNET: Obviously, some of those capabilities, such as THAAD, are dependent on a lot of disparate systems. Does this acquisition help BAE become more interoperable with a lot of other systems?
DeMuro: Think about a product that we make today, the Link 16 [military tactical data link network].
Arseneault: We own the Link 16 waveform as part of the fundamental portfolio of our current communications business. Now we’ll be able to add that family of waveforms, we’ll be able to use it on these acquired radios and then vice versa.
There’s a number of waveforms — software-defined radio waveforms — that come with this portfolio, that we will be able to then market out through our existing communication devices.
THAAD was more on the precision side. While THAAD, itself, is a seeker of a type, I think this is more applicable to some of the new next-generation seekers that will want to be multimodal. So it’s [electro-optical/infrared], it’ll be radio frequency and GPS.
[We want to] have as many opportunities to get a really good sense of what’s driving precision. With a million-and-a-half devices out there, there is a whole wide set of customers that these will continue to supply.
But this will also be a good opportunity for us to incorporate that technology into some of our roadmaps. SECTR [Seeker Cost Transformation] is a DARPA program, a next-generation multimodal seeker. So, GPS will be a piece of that. The idea being where seekers are more modular and so you can use a seeker on multiple weapon types and reduce costs and have greater efficiency.
C4ISRNET: Are you thinking of a card you can plug in? Or more software adaptable?
DeMuro: Chip sets, right. Combined functionality … because it’s all about size, weight and power and cost as you get out there. But the presence of these two product families, and what has to happen to upgrade them in and of itself, supports the business case. We didn’t really include a lot of synergies in the business case, but we see some real opportunity there.
C4ISRNET: Can you expand on the autonomy side? I see how the GPS, and linking GPS to radio, can lead to greater precision, but where do you see opportunities on the autonomy side?
Arseneault: Autonomous systems need to know where they are. Secure, resilient position information is critical …
DeMuro: Anti-spoofing.
Arseneault: These sorts of devices are going to find their way into many if not all of the modern autonomous systems.
Likewise, you need to be able to communicate with things around you. As we’re headed to swarms, they want to know where they are. They want to know where all of their surrounding platforms are. Manned-unmanned teaming is another version of autonomy where you want to know, and you want to be able to communicate with your wingman as they call it.
DeMuro: If you think about anti-access/aerial denial, doing all of this in a contested environment — it’s got to be secure. M-Code is absolutely essential to that.
These waveforms, low probability of intercept, low probability of detection and also software-defined radios are very agile in moving around to enable that in contested environments. Both of these properties help accomplish that.
C4ISRNET: You mentioned the National Defense Strategy; what role do these non-kinetic capabilities play in future conflicts?
DeMuro: They’re foundational. If you don’t have them, you can’t operate in the future environment. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
23 Mar 20. Worse than 9/11: Defense firms with exposure to commercial market losses cut overhead to the bone. Defense companies with substantial exposure to commercial markets are taking dramatic measures to limit overhead and preserve cash, with one chief executive calling the new coronavirus pandemic “worse than anything we’ve seen.”
Among the companies that announced cost-cutting measures tied to losses or potential losses from the COVID-10 crisis, CAE pointed to temporary layoffs — starting first with almost 500 unionized employees, but with more inevitably to follow, CEO Marc Parent said during a webcast hosted by RBC Capital Markets.
Parent and his executive team are taking salary cuts of 50 percent, with vice presidents taking cuts of 30 percent, managers and directors 20 percent, and all others 10 percent. The company is also taking capital expenditures as well as research and development investment to the bare minimum.
“We’re not Pollyanna here,” Parent said during the webcast. “We’re assuming a tough period, and we’re taking immediate steps to preserve cash.”
In terms of business disruption, “this is worse than anything we’ve seen,” including 9/11, he added.
GE Aviation, which already announced a hiring freeze, the cancellation of salaried merit increases and a reduction of nonessential spending, will cut about 10 percent of its U.S. workforce. CEO David Joyce will give up half of his salary starting April 1. The division also pointed to temporary lack of work impacting about 50 percent of its U.S. maintenance, repair and overhaul employees for 90 days.
Meanwhile, Airbus is looking to investor incentives to gain some cash, canceling one planned dividend payment and another proposed 2019 dividend payment of 1.80 euros (U.S. $1.90) per share to save the company 1.4bn euros ($1.5bn). It’s also lining up 15bn euros in new credit to provide more cash to weather the crisis.
All three companies are big players in commercial aviation. Airbus ranked No. 9 on the Defense News Top 100 list of defense companies, but with only 17 percent of its 2018 revenue coming from the defense and security business. GE ranked No. 29, with 13 percent of business coming from defense, and CAE ranked No. 70, with 40 percent coming from defense.
The defense portions of the businesses are also feeling the impact, though less substantial because of the structure of contracts that often extend to multiple years. For CAE, programs fall under long-term contracts, versus “per sip” agreements more typical of commercial customers where revenue is driven by utilization. The company’s CEO, Parent, also pointed to a $4bn backlog in defense.
Still, base access restrictions and the natural limitations on movement of people has made both training and order fulfillment more difficult for the defense business.
“And the general preoccupation of the crisis has impact on the speed of procurement processes,” Parent said. “We don’t see obvious structural impact, but we can anticipate short-term friction.”
Publicly traded companies with mixed commercial-defense business have also seen deeper losses to stock price, generally speaking, compared to more pure-play defense companies. While Lockheed and Northrop Grumman stock prices have dropped about 34 percent and 24 percent in the last month, respectively, CAE and GE have dropped 66 percent and 48 percent, respectively.
Boeing, with 66 percent of revenue coming from commercial and other nondefense markets, has seen a whopping 67 percent drop during that period.
Raytheon, despite being almost entirely focused on defense, saw a bigger drop than most pure-play companies of about 47 percent during the last month, likely due to the increased exposure to commercial that will come with its United Technologies merger.
But stock price can be a rather deceiving picture of impact on industry, particularly long term, warned Byron Callan of Capital Alpha Partners.
“A lot of these stocks are part of the S&P 500, where price movements have no relation to underlying fundamentals,” he said. “On the flip side, you could see rotation out of defense and into [those companies] that people think will recover. In other words, folks may be hiding out in defense stocks, but reallocate to markets that they figure are bound to recover eventually” — such as travel and leisure.
Looking at defense companies, “Raytheon has been the worst performing stock because they got tied into commercial aerospace through the merger,” Callan said, “but going forward that may be the most interesting [stock] of all because there will be a degree of balance.”
In other words, what’s true now on Wall Street could change considerably months from now. The same could be said about the long-term position of these companies, regardless of how grave the circumstances are today.
“The world will return to normal. All crises will come to an end,” Parent said, pointing to the advantage of supporting a highly regulated industry. “We have staying power and stamina to weather the storm, but we’re not taking anything for granted. … We want to be ready when we come out of this.” (Source: Defense News)
23 Mar 20. BAE Systems keeping procedures under ‘constant review.’ BAE Systems has said it is constantly reviewing the situation to minimise the impact of the Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic on its business and staff. A BAE Systems spokesperson told Army Technology: “We continue to update our guidance to employees to reflect the latest public health advice and ensure we’re taking appropriate precautions to protect our people.
“We have robust business continuity plans in place which are under constant review as the situation evolves and we continue to work closely with employees, customers and suppliers to minimise any impact to our operations.”
In a further statement issued on 22 March, BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn said the company was looking to expand remote working where possible.
Woodburn added: “A number of our sites around the world need to continue operating to deliver critical capabilities to help governments and members of the armed forces and security services to protect national security at this challenging time. We are taking actions at these sites to protect our people and minimise disruption.
“Our travel policies are under constant review to align with guidance in the markets in which we operate. Like other organisations, we are minimising travel whilst focussing on meeting our customers’ needs. Our suppliers include many small and medium-sized companies, who play an important role in supporting our customers. We are exploring how we can further support our supply chain partners during this challenging time.” (Source: army-technology.com)
20 Mar 20. Triumph Group announces cost reduction initiatives amid Covid-19. Triumph Group has announced cost reduction initiatives that will help the company maintain its position amid the outbreak of coronavirus (Covid-19). The move will directly affect the company’s overhead, indirect staff and temporary workers. Triumph has not provided details about the number of possible job cuts and noted that furloughs will be done ‘selectively’.
Additionally, the company has said that the cost reduction action will help it balance the production capacity and expected demand in the market while maintaining long-term competitiveness.
The company has not experienced any material impact on its backlog or revenue due to the virus. Furthermore, it expects no impact in this fiscal year ending on 31 March 2020.
According to the company, the impact of the pandemic on its work is low as Triumph’s products and services are spread across various sectors such as defence, commercial, and international markets.
Triumph’s factories and main suppliers will remain operational, and no positive Covid-19 cases have been detected among any of its employees so far.
With reductions in travel, corporate events and other expenses, annual savings of $75m are expected from fiscal 2021.
Precautionary measures and safe work practices are exercised within the factory units. The company has implemented work from home policies as per the guidelines of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to minimise exposure to the virus. Until further development, business operations will continue in all company, said Triumph. (Source: army-technology.com)
19 Mar 20. TAT Technologies Reports 2019 Results. TAT Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: TATT) (“TAT” or the “Company”), a leading provider of products and services to the commercial and military aerospace and ground defense industries, reported today its audited results for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019.
Key Financial Highlights:
- Total revenues grew by $8.8m to $102m for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019, compared to $93.2m for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018, an increase of 9.5%. MRO and OEM segments contributed to the growth.
- Gross profit for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 increased by 85.5% to $15.6m (15.3% of revenues) compared with $8.4 m (9% of revenues) for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018. This was achieved due to the cost decrease and efficiency increase program started at the end of 2018.
- EBITDA for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 increased by $7.7m to $6.5m compared with a negative EBITDA of $1.2m for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
- Net income increased by $5.2M to $0.8m, or $0.1 per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 compared with a loss of $4.4m, or ($0.5) per diluted share for the twelve months ended December 31, 2018.
- Cash stay stable at the level of $16m year over year.
About TAT Technologies LTDTAT Technologies Ltd. is a leading provider of services and products to the commercial and military aerospace and ground defense industries. TAT operates under four segments: (i) Original equipment manufacturing (“OEM”) of heat transfer solutions and aviation accessories through its Gedera facility; (ii) MRO services for heat transfer components and OEM of heat transfer solutions through its Limco subsidiary; (iii) MRO services for aviation components through its Piedmont subsidiary; and (iv) Overhaul and coating of jet engine components through its Turbochrome subsidiary. TAT controlling shareholders is the FIMI Private Equity Fund.
TAT’s activities in the area of OEM of heat transfer solutions and aviation accessories primarily include the design, development and manufacture of (i) broad range of heat transfer solutions, such as pre-coolers heat exchangers and oil/fuel hydraulic heat exchangers, used in mechanical and electronic systems on board commercial, military and business aircraft; (ii) environmental control and power electronics cooling systems installed on board aircraft in and ground applications; and (iii) a variety of other mechanical aircraft accessories and systems such as pumps, valves, and turbine power units.
TAT’s activities in the area of MRO Services for heat transfer components and OEM of heat transfer solutions primarily include the MRO of heat transfer components and to a lesser extent, the manufacturing of certain heat transfer solutions. TAT’s Limco subsidiary operates an FAA-certified repair station, which provides heat transfer MRO services for airlines, air cargo carriers, maintenance service centers and the military.
TAT’s activities in the area of MRO services for aviation components include the MRO of APUs, landing gears and other aircraft components. TAT’s Piedmont subsidiary operates an FAA-certified repair station, which provides aircraft component MRO services for airlines, air cargo carriers, maintenance service centers and the military. TAT’s activities in the area of overhaul and coating of jet engine components includes the overhaul and coating of jet engine components, including turbine vanes and blades, fan blades, variable inlet guide vanes and afterburner flaps. (Source: PR Newswire)
19 Mar 20. SoftBank’s OneWeb to Consider Bankruptcy as Cash Dwindles. OneWeb, the satellite operator backed by SoftBank Group Corp., is mulling a possible bankruptcy filing to address a cash crunch as it grapples with high costs and stiff competition, according to people with knowledge of the preparations.
The company is considering seeking court protection even as it continues to review possible out-of-court alternatives, said the people, who asked not to be named discussing private company plans.
OneWeb would be among the first SoftBank-backed companies to file for bankruptcy. A spokeswoman for SoftBank, which is OneWeb’s largest investor, declined to comment.
A spokesperson for OneWeb declined to comment.
London-based OneWeb makes so-called low-Earth orbit satellites that provide high-speed communications, and it has raised approximately $3.3bn in debt and equity financing from shareholders including SoftBank, Airbus SE and Qualcomm Inc. since its inception, according to filings.
It faces high-profile competition, including from Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starlink project and Jeff Bezos’s Amazon-linked Project Kuiper effort, while incumbents in the space include Inmarsat, Intelsat SA and Eutelsat Communications SA. And while the technology is in its early stages, the business is subject not only to high startup costs but an uncertain regulatory environment.
On that front, SoftBank has ramped up lobbying efforts in Washington, Bloomberg has reported, including in support of measures that would allow OneWeb to provide Internet access from more of its satellites. (Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/)
13 Mar 20. Company Growth of 30 Percent Registered by GMV. 2019 has been a red-letter year for the space business of the technology multinational GMV. Its turnover, topping 140m euros for a total 245m euros group revenue, is nearly 30% up on the previous year.
These figures confirm that its space business is still booming, multiplying its turnover by a factor of 2.5 since 2015, fueling a continual influx of new recruits into team GMV. Indeed, from the job-generation point of view, GMV is Europe’s sixth best-performing industrial space group behind only Airbus, Thales, Ariane, Leonardo and OHB.
This growth has also been across-the-board throughout the whole space business, with rates varying from 15 to 40%, and in most of the countries where the company runs space activities. Within GMV’s European group, Spain leads the pack; Germany holds on to second place, while sharp growth rates are also being recorded by the company’s businesses in France, Portugal, Romania and the UK.
In the words of Jorge Potti, GMV’s general space manager, “2019 was a resounding success for GMV’s space business. These all-time high productivity rates, built up on the strength of the excellent work of our whole staff, speak for the thoroughness of our business approach in this area. ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level, held in late December, was another considerable boost to the sector, so we confidently expect this growth to continue into the future.”
Some of the main operations that have enabled GMV to record these figures are:
- The contract for Galileo’s Ground Control Segment (GSC), GMV’s largest ever contract
- GMV’s leadership of Galileo’s future ground segment and the firm’s leading role in many Galileo centers (Service Centre, Reference Centre, Search & Rescue, TGVF and Commercial Service)
- Worthy of note are projects such as GMV’s PRS developments (Public Regulated Service), the operational SBAS demonstrator, installed in Australia and New Zealand, and the high-precision products with integrity, including those carried out for the new generation of BMW’s autonomous vehicles GMV reinforces its worldwide leadership in control centers, both in the commercial and institutional markets, beginning work on operations of the OneWeb mega-constellation and taking on responsibility for Galileo’s control center.
- 2019 saw the launch of 12 satellites controlled by GMV’s flight dynamic systems or control centers and we have made great headway as ground segment primer in programs such as the next-generation EPS ground control segment, the third-generation Meteosat control center, the ExoMars control center and the ground control segments of CHEOPS, PAZ and Ingenio.
- In telecommunications, GMV remains world leader, with developments for Eutelsat, OneWeb and Arabsat.
- In the area of flight dynamics and operations GMV had notable developments and operations engineering this year for ESOC, Eumetsat, CNES and DLR.
- Turning to the space-surveillance area, GMV holds a leadership position in operations centers within the European Union’s Space Surveillance and Tracking (SST) consortium and has carried out important activities in ESA’s Space Situational Awareness (SSA) program.
- Business is also brisk in the data-processing, simulation and applications area. Marquee moments here were the winning of the contract for development of the processor of the MicroCarb mission (Carbon Dioxide Monitoring Mission)
- A busy year has also been experienced in Instrument Quality Tools for the Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) program. The European Commission’s emergency and security framework contracts, furthermore, have clearly made us one of Copernicus’s European mainstays, with successful participation in WekEO’s Data Information Access Services (DIAS).
- In the applications market, GMV has successfully focused on international agencies and the provision of sustainable-development-favoring services, leading to a maiden framework contract with UNICEF.
- In the flight-segment area, GMV made huge strides in 2019 as supplier of complete avionics systems, including GNC/AOCS subsystems, flight software and integration with flight equipment.
- Worthy of particular note here is GMV’s participation in missions such as HERA, Mars Sample Return, Space Rider, ADRIOS, OPS-SAT, Heracles, ExoMars, lunar missions or successful qualification of the complete avionics of the MIURA-1 microlauncher.
- GMV is also cementing its technology-developer leadership in key areas of Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC), robotics, software engineering and microelectronics. Areas where growth prospects are especially bright including launch vehicles, planetary defense, orbital services and robotic exploration.
This remarkable year ended in grand style with ESA’s Council at Ministerial Level, chalking up a record subscription with the concomitant boost for the whole sector. This now ushers in for GMV a period of the highest expectations, further fueled by the firm’s solid track record and its ongoing growth.
11 Mar 20. More Millions for SpaceX. Journalist Chris Forrester at the Advanced Television infosite is revealing that Elon Musk has raised $500.06m (€441m) in fresh funding at a share price of an extremely buoyant $220 per share. This is double what SpaceX was looking to raise and means that his rocket company is now worth around $36bn (an improvement on last year’s $33bn valuation).
This is, again, proof that investors love just about everything that Musk touches. In 2019 alone, SpaceX raised a total of $1.33bn during three (3) funding rounds. SpaceX, as well as further developing its Falcon rockets, has other projects in the form of the Starlink mega-constellation, their Crew Dragon astronaut shuttle and the Starship giant rocket. (Source: Satnews)