SALES DIP AT MAGELLAN
COMPONENTS Engine and structural components maker Magellan saw first quarter aerospace sector revenue decrease 4.3% to C$154.6 million ($158 million) owing to a cyclical downturn in specialty product sales volume and the decline in the US dollar versus the Canadian dollar, offset by increased sales volume to single-aisle and new programmes. The company also increased prices. Pre-tax profit, including contribution from the small power generation products business, more than doubled to C$10.1 million.
MOOG BOLTS ON CROSSBOW
ACQUISITION Moog has acquired for $32 million Crossbow Technology of Milpitas, California, a designer and manufacturer of acceleration sensors for inertial navigation and guidance systems. Crossbow, which had 2010 revenues of $13 million, will supplement Moog's established controls business.
ESTERLINE UP IN PARTS
FIRST HALF A solid second quarter at Esterline took sales up 12% to $806.1 million for its first half to 29 April, with pre-tax profits rising by three-quarters to $95.5 million. Avionics sector sales were up 15% to $424 million, while sensors gained 11% to $162 million and advanced materials rose 8% to nearly $220 million. Chief executive Brad Lawrence said: "Our spare parts business was particularly strong in the first half of the year due to pent-up demand from airlines recovering from the downturn."
TELEDYNE, AEROJET TO JOIN ROCKET FORCES
PROPULSION Teledyne Brown Engineering and GenCorp's Aerojet unit have agreed to jointly develop, manufacture and market liquid- propellant rocket engines for customers including NASA. The companies expect the work to bring as many as 1,400 jobs to California and the Huntsville area in northern Alabama.
COST CUTTING, LEAN TECHNOLOGY BOOST IRKUT
AIRFRAMERS Russian airframer Irkut, which is developing the MS-21 airliner, reported a 2010 net profit of $85.6 million on revenue up 27% to $1.67 billion. The company lost $19.4 million in 2009. Gross profit last year improved 71% to $693.9 million. President Alexey Fedorov attributed profit growth to innovative technologies, decreased production costs and use of lean manufacturing technologies. He said that in the past five years revenue has doubled, mainly due to export of Sukhoi Su-30MK multi-role fighters. Irkut's orderbook stands at more than $6 billion.
MITSUBISHI TO DOUBLE SATELLITE CAPACITY
SPACEFLIGHT Mitsubishi Electric plans to double annual satellite production capacity from four spacecraft to eight with a ¥3 billion ($37.4 million) investment to enlarge and upgrade its Kamakura production facility, by March 2013. The plan calls for a doubling of satellite-related annual sales to ¥150 billion by March 2021.
'NO UNFAIR COMPETITION FROM DUBAI AVIATION'
REPORT Dubai's aviation sector has not benefited from unfair competition or governmental support, according to a new report by Oxford Economics. The report - commissioned by Dubai-based Emirates Airline and Dubai Airports - concludes that aviation supports more than 250,000 jobs and contributes more than $22 billion, or around 19% of Dubai's total employment and 28% of its GDP, both directly and by supporting tourism.
Source: Flight International
