Silverjet Wins Crucial Investment
Viceroy Holdings, a United Arab Emirates investor, is to become the largest shareholder, at 28%, in UK all-premium carrier Silverjet for an equity investment of some $8.5 million and access to a loan of up to $16.5 million. Silverjet - which operates from London Luton to Newark and Dubai - will potentially receive another $75 million under the terms of its agreement with Viceroy, which will appoint two board members. Securing funding for the carrier had become an urgent matter because the airline's financial reserves were running low. Two transatlantic all-business rivals, Eos and Maxjet, have ceased operations in the last five months.
HeavyLift Cargo Buys Australia's OzJet
Australian entrepreneur Paul Stoddart has sold his 97.4% stake in Melbourne-based airline OzJet to HeavyLift Cargo Airlines. OzJet chief operating officer David Blake say HeavyLift plans to expand OzJet's presence in the ad hoc charter business, particularly its work for the Australian Defence Force. The new owners have indicated OzJet, which has a fleet of four Boeing 737-200s, will be getting newer passenger aircraft but have yet to decide on an aircraft type and there are no immediate plans for OzJet to operate cargo aircraft. The purchase means HeavyLift, which has been operating dedicated cargo flights from Australia using a foreign air operator's certificate, now has an Australian air operator's certificate. Stoddart also owns UK charter operator European Aviation.
ST Aero Profit Rises 4% In First Quarter
Aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul group Singapore Technologies Aerospace reported a 4% rise in first quarter pre-tax profit to Sing$82.6 million ($60.1 million) on turnover up 3% to Sing$469.2 million. The company says that "barring unforeseen circumstances, turnover and profit before tax for [the first half of 2008] are expected to be higher" than in the same period last year. ST Aero has operations in Singapore, China, Panama and the USA.
Hampson Makes Double US Tooling Acquisition
Aerospace and precision engineering group Hampson Industries is to acquire Michigan tooling and services companies Odyssey Industries and Global Tooling Systems for $314 million in cash and shares. Odyssey specialises in the design and manufacture of invar bond tools, which are used in the manufacture of large, composite aero structural components. GTS makes integrated tooling solutions for carbon composite component manufacture and high-level airframe assemblies. The two companies supply programmes including the Boeing 787 and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Hampson chief executive Kim Ward says: "These acquisitions are consistent with our strategic push into high-margin, high-growth aerospace composite component and tooling systems manufacture."
Order Intake 'Significant': Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce chief executive Sir John Rose told the company's annual general meeting: "Our civil aerospace business continues to enjoy significant order intake particularly in Asia and the Middle East. However, the credit shortage and increased fuel costs are inevitably putting pressure on the airline industry." He said current trading was consistent with expectations of revenue and profit growth for the year, adding that "the group's increasingly global nature, our access to growing international markets and the scale of our order book all support [expectations] that Rolls-Royce will continue to deliver growth across all four of our business sectors."
Source: Flight International
