European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co (EADS), maker of Airbus planes, returned to profit last year and said yesterday it was set to deal with the crisis faced by client airlines despite a mixed outlook for this year.
The European aerospace group beat forecasts with a net profit last year of 1.57 billion euros (US$1.99 billion).
“We made significant headway in reshaping the company,” EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said in a statement.
In 2007, the problem-plagued group posted a loss of 446 million euros and for last year analysts were expecting a net profit of around 1.32 billion euros.
EADS is now “in a good position to face the crisis” that has slammed the air transport industry although it had “a low level of visibility for the second half of this year and beyond” as the economic slump cuts demand.
EADS also acknowledged difficulties with its A400M military transport plane but Gallois said: “Even if the A400M program required enormous attention, the group has regained stability in 2008 and is proving to be resilient in the face of the turbulent global economic environment.”
The A400M has been hit by delays, with its first flight postponed to an undetermined date because of problems with its engines, and “could lead to a significant charge” on core earnings this year. The program is running more than three years late and cut just over 700 million euros from EADS earnings last year.
But the group also expects Airbus to win 300 to 400 new orders this year. Last year, Airbus delivered a record 483 aircraft to customers, including 12 A380 super jumbos, while the Eurocopter unit also had record deliveries of 588 helicopters.
Meanwhile, operating profit came to 2.8 billion euros, better than analysts forecasts of 2.42 billion euros and well above the group’s own forecast last March of 1.8 billion euros. Sales climbed 11 percent to 43.3 billion euros despite the industry slump.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique