BOMBARDIER RIDES BUSINESS JET UPTURN
AIRCRAFT Higher deliveries of commercial aircraft and a favourable business jet mix bumped first-quarter revenue up 10% to $2.2 billion for Bombardier Aerospace. For the three months to the end of April, earnings before interest and taxes rose 6% to $141 million. The airframer delivered 23 regional aircraft, up from 16 during the same period a year ago, and business jet deliveries were down two units at 37. Commercial jet orders plunged to five - from 55 a year ago - but recovery was evident on the business jet side, with 77 net orders swamping the six recorded a year ago thanks in large part to 50 firm Global orders and 70 options from NetJets, worth $6.7 billion at list prices and the largest-ever business jet deal for Bombardier.
HÉROUX-DEVTEK FLIES WITH EAGLE ACQUISITION
MANUFACTURING Landing gear and aerostructures maker Héroux-Devtek posted rises of nearly 12% in aerospace division sales and operating income, to C$332 million ($342 million) and C$27.6 million for the year to the end of March. Overall, pre-tax income of C$26 million was up 16%. Including the impact of the April 2010 acquisition of Ohio components maker Eagle Tool & Machine, landing gear sales increased 16%, but organically were down 6% owing to lower Boeing 777 production rates and reduced military sales. Aerospace accounts for 93% of company sales.
EVERGREEN EXITS MRO BUSINESS
DIVESTMENT US investor Relativity Capital is to acquire MRO provider Evergreen Maintenance Center (EMC) in Arizona from parent company Evergreen International Aviation, whose cargo airline will continue to send its 10 Boeing 747s to EMC for heavy maintenance. The EMC operation includes aircraft disassembly and 1.8 million m² (20 million ft²) of parking for more than 400 aircraft.
DIXIE AEROSPACE EXTENDS PARTS RANGE
ACQUISITION Dixie Aerospace is to buy AAR's parts manufacture approved (PMA) parts product line, including all inventory and associated intellectual property, and will sell the line on a preferred supplier basis. Dixie president Keith Coleman says the acquisition will "complement our system focus nicely, offering significant coverage in the landing gear, engine, and interior systems".
BAE SELLS CALIFORNIA COMPOSITES UNITS
DISPOSAL BAE Systems will sell its Composite Structures business in Brea, California to EnCore Composites Holdings for $32.5 million cash. The business employs about 170 people to design and manufacture composite components and assemblies for commercial and defence platforms.
MARKET WARY OF SPIRIT
AIRLINES Investor worries about high fuel costs and an uncertain travel market led south Florida-based Spirit Airlines, which bills itself as an "ultra-low-cost, low-fare carrier", to drop the price range of stock in its 26 May initial public offering from $14-16 a share to $12-13 and slash the number of shares on offer by 22% to 15.6 million. First-week trading saw the shares reached a high of $11.90.
CESA LINKS WITH BENGALURU ENGINEERING GROUP
TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER EADS-controlled landing-gear supplier CESA is to transfer some technology and manufacturing work to Bengaluru-based software and technology group Wipro, which is involved in hydraulics but aims to enter aerospace and defence.
Source: Flight International
