Strong Q3 lifts EADS despite new charge
Reuters
Shares in European aerospace group EADS (Paris:EAD.PA - News) soared on Friday as it beat expectations for the third quarter and raised its 2008 profit goal, upstaging a new 341 million euro provision for delays in a top military project.
EADS also announced 200 million euros of new cost savings for 2011 and 2012 on top of existing restructuring plans and boasted a strong cash buffer against global financial turmoil.
The Airbus parent said it had swung to a quarterly operating profit, or earnings before interest and tax, of 860 million euros compared with a 711 million euro loss a year earlier. Third-quarter sales rose 6 percent to 9.701 billion euros.
Ex-EADS Chief Forgeard Charged With Insider Trading
Bloomberg News
“Noel Forgeard, the former co-chief executive officer of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co., was charged with insider trading for selling shares before disclosing production delays on Airbus SAS’s A380 jet…
“Forgeard was forced to quit his post at EADS two years ago after news that problems with cabin wiring would delay the 525- seat A380’s introduction led the shares to fall 26 percent. As many as 17 other executives at EADS and its Airbus unit are under investigation in a related civil case.”
EADS projects that up to 15,000 people annually will be willing to fork over 200,000 euros ($300,000) to fly suborbital tourism flights, BBC’s Jonathan Amos reports.
EADS’ Astrium division is now working on space vehicle to rocket tourists up to 100 kilometers (62.5 miles). The company anticipates it will need an assembly line cranking out about 10 spacecraft annually.
Astrium anticipates it be will be producing about 10 spaceplanes a year. “To satisfy the market you will need more planes than you think, because once there is regular operation, the price will decrease which means there will be more customers,” CTO Robert Laine told Amos.
