September 1, 2009
Avionics maker Rockwell Collins is expecting the commercial aerospace aftermarket to start improving over the next year, with a robust recovery possible in 2011, the company’s chief executive said on Tuesday.
As aerospace services and maintenance pick up, the second half of the company’s next fiscal year that begins in October will likely look stronger than the first half, he added.
“What we in general see as the lay of the land is that business aircraft seem to be stabilising, but we face two quarters of really, really bad comparables because of the shape of 2008,” Rockwell Collins CEO Clay Jones told a Morgan Stanley investor conference.
Jones said Rockwell’s current fourth quarter and the coming first quarter were expected to be low points of the improving cycle of the aftermarket, which accounts for 45 percent of the company’s total commercial revenue.
Rockwell Collins supplies products for planes, including cockpit and cabin electronics. As plane makers have cut output and airlines have pared costs in the recession, Rockwell has seen weaker sales tied to original equipment and services. In July, it posted a 17 percent drop in third-quarter profit.
Jones said he expects airlines to boost flight hours toward the end of the company’s next fiscal year, which will in turn spur more spending on maintenance and retrofit programmes.
“That should position us very well out into ‘11 to see a full robust recovery in the aftermarket assuming the economy continues to do well,” Jones added.
(Reuters)
-
Recent Comments
Swine Influenza Update
WHO is coordinating the global response to human cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) and monitoring the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic. Information on this link tracks the evolving situation and provides access to both technical guidelines and information useful for the general public.Avian Influenza Update
Avian influenza (“bird flu”) is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus. The infection can cause a wide spectrum of symptoms in birds, ranging from mild illness, which may pass unnoticed, to a rapidly fatal disease that can cause severe epidemics.Trends in Aviation
"The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space on the infinite highway of the air."
- Wilbur Wright -
(1867 - 1912)
One Reply
[...] See original here: Rockwell Says Aerospace Aftermarket To Improve [...]