BUY DISTRESSED, NOT NEW: AERCAP
AerCap has suspended buying new aircraft in part because it thinks it can get a better deal from rivals in distress than from Airbus or Boeing. Chief executive Klaus Heinemann says the 290-aircraft lessor, which saw net profit rise 9% in 2009 to $165.2 million and expects to close its acquisition of rival Genesis this month, has to be sure that "whatever bargain purchase we might get from a manufacturer is better than a bargain purchase we might get by taking care of an orderbook of a competitor that can't cope with it".
'UPTURN IN 2010': MEGGITT
At Meggitt, sales were down 1% last year to £1.15 billion ($1.7 billion) and pre-tax profits dipped 4% to £243.2 million as increased military sales and currency effects helped offset the falling civil revenues. Chief executive Terry Twigger describes the group as "very well placed to take advantage of an upturn in its civil engineering aerospace markets, which is expected in 2010".
KAMAN ROLLS THROUGH 2009
Aerospace segment sales at Connecticut bearings maker Kaman were up 5.1% last year to $500.7 million, taking operating profit up 21.7% to $75 million, thanks in part to higher deliveries to the Sikorsky S-70A Black Hawk programme.
DEFENCE BOOST FOR SENIOR
Aerospace sales edged up for UK manufacturing group Senior last year to £319.2 million ($478 million), but operating profit slipped 12% to £38.8 million as stronger defence sales, which account for 26% of the division, failed to make up for fewer civil sales.
ISRAEL AEROSPACE FIRMS UP GERMANY LINK
Unmanned air vehicles and loitering weapons systems developed by Israel Aerospace Industries are to be manufactured in Germany through a joint venture with Rheinmetall Defence Electronics, which has already sold the IAI Heron-1 to the German army under a marketing deal dating to 2007.
FINANCE HOUSE BUYS STAKE IN AEROFLOT
Russia's Aeroflot-Finance has acquired a 6.3% share of the stock in flag carrier Aeroflot. At current share prices the deal would value the carrier at some $2.1 billion.
ILFC PROFITS UP
International Lease Finance revenues increased 4.5% to $5.3 billion last year and net profits rose 27% to $895.6 million. ILFC's parent, insurer AIG, which was taken into US government ownership in a financial crisis bailout, has extended until February 2011 what amounts to a commitment of taxpayer cash to support ILFC debt requirements, including $7 billion due this year.
TAX BREAK COULD BOOST RUSSIAN AIRFRAMER
Russia's United Aircraft has asked the government to waive import duties on Western aircraft until 2015 for Russian airlines that make advance payments in commitments to buy domestically produced models such as UAC's MS-21.
GREEKS EXPECT TIE-UP CLEARANCE BY OCTOBER
Greek carriers Olympic Air and Aegean Airlines expect to secure European Commission approval for their proposed merger by the end of September.
Source: Flight International
