UK aerospace group Meggitt has bought two avionics product lines from BAE Systems for £14.6 million ($22.3 million) to limit dependence on a shrinking US civil aerospace market. The products include air-data transducers and engine management units for military aircraft and helicopters, and health and usage monitoring systems and flight data recorders for civil aircraft.
Meggitt Aerospace Systems managing director Richard Greaves says many products are designed for out-of-production aircraft, such as the BAE Harrier and Panavia Tornado, but adds: "There is a substantial amount of quite profitable legacy business."
Even after the acquisition, the bulk of Meggitt's aerospace sales will be to the civil sector - only 27% will be to the military market. With civil sales falling 15-20% in a sustained decline, Greaves emphasises Meggitt's need to increase its share of defence business and raise its European presence. "About 70% of our turnover is in the USA, although we are a London-listed company so we are interested in getting more presence in Europe. We have only one [aerospace] company in mainland Europe," says Greaves.
Source: Flight International
