Latest news with #Safran
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Safran picks France for aerospace factory coveted by US, Canada
PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - French aerospace group Safran ( opens new tab has picked France as the location for a $500 million carbon brakes factory, beating rival bids from sites in the U.S. and Canada in a domestic investment buoyed by a shake-up at power giant EDF. Partially state-owned Safran, which builds jet engines and competes with RTX (RTX.N), opens new tab unit Collins Aerospace to sell other equipment like brakes and landing gear, said the 30,000 square metre (323,000 sq ft) facility near Lyon would cost over 450 million euros ($514.4 million) and start running in 2030. Thursday's announcement, alongside higher mid-year earnings, came after Reuters exclusively reported that Safran was poised to select France for the expansion following a politically sensitive contest overshadowed by concerns over energy supplies. The contest has been closely scrutinised in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has made regenerating local industry a key political priority at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing Europe to invest more in the United States. Macron hailed the decision to pick Ain, southeastern France, as an act of "sovereignty and re-industrialisation." Safran pioneered the use of carbon brakes for jetliners and Formula 1 racing cars and says they are lighter and more durable than steel. But they consume large amounts of energy to make, so Safran had been pressing for secure supplies of clean energy. Under discussion for five years, the decision had become increasingly swept up in energy and international politics, as well as the fallout from management changes at state utility EDF. Earlier plans to base the site in Lyon, France's third-largest city, had been scrapped, first due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and then a sharp rise in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Safran CEO Olivier Andries, who had outlined a set of conditions including affordable long-term energy supplies and political and economic stability, denied any link with recent tariff wars and put the spotlight on EDF's new boss. "It was a purely objective decision," he told reporters, adding that a recent management shake-up at EDF had "altered the dynamics" of the negotiation for the better. EDF said it welcomed the decision. EDF's new CEO Bernard Fontana has pledged to focus on domestic projects after his predecessor Luc Remont was fired earlier this year following complaints by French industries over his rigidity on long-term contract negotiations. Fontana told parliament in April that EDF would deliver competitive prices via "all available margins of flexibility." Quebec was the leading candidate outside France due to its ample hydroelectric supplies and Oregon was also considered before failing to reach the final cut, industry sources said. The new site at the Plaine de l'Ain industrial park is designed to allow Safran to increase output by 25% up to 2037 by complementing existing sites in France, Kentucky and Malaysia. ($1 = 0.8747 euros)
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
European stocks rise on Safran, Rolls-Royce boost amidst earnings flurry
July 31 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Thursday, helped by a slate of upbeat corporate results from Safran and Rolls-Royce, with investors keeping an eye on last-minute trade deals after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a blitz of tariff announcements. The French aerospace group Safran < opens new tab rose 4.8% after raising its full year profit outlook, while British aero-engineer Rolls-Royce RR.L, opens new tab rallied 8.4% after raising, opens new tabits full-year outlook for operating profit and free cash flow. Shares of both firms hit all-time highs, respectively. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index (.STOXX), opens new tab was up 0.4% by 0810 GMT with all major regional indexes in the green. The STOXX 600 index is on track to end the month 2% higher as easing trade worries, better-than-expected U.S. and European economic data and largely upbeat earnings reports bolstered sentiment. "What's driving the equities markets is that we are at the peak of the earnings season," said Christoph Berger, CIO European equity at Allianz Global Investors. "The perspective of most European market participants is now more on 2026 and that will be the time when you see the impact of the fiscal stimulus in Germany but also more measures related to European sovereignty." Ahead of the August 1 deadline, U.S. President Donald Trump released fresh levies ranging from updates on copper tariffs, goods from Brazil, South Korea and India as well as an end to exemptions for small-value overseas shipments. After Trump stuck a trade deal framework with the EU over the weekend, analysts' outlook for second-quarter earnings has improved. As of Tuesday, STOXX 600 companies are likely to report growth of 1.8% in second-quarter earnings, a large improvement from the 0.3% fall analysts had expected a week ago, according to LSEG I/B/E/S data. Euro zone banks (.SX7E), opens new tab continued their upward momentum, adding 1.8%, boosted by Societe Generale ( opens new tab raising its annual profit target on Thursday. The French bank was among top gainers on the index, advancing 6.8%. Standard Chartered (STAN.L), opens new tab reported a higher-than-expected rise in first-half pretax profit, while Spanish bank BBVA ( opens new tab added 7.6% after second-quarter net profit beat expectations. Energy giant Shell (SHEL.L), opens new tab gained 2.3% after the company beat profit expectations for the quarter and kept buybacks steady. Rival BP (BP.L), opens new tab rose marginally. Anheuser-Busch InBev ( opens new tab slumped 9.4% to the bottom of the index after the beer giant reported a fall in volumes, dragged back by weak sales in China and Brazil. Blowout results from Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab and Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab overnight are set to power Wall Street on Thursday, ahead of reports from Apple (AAPL.O), opens new tab and (AMZN.O), opens new tab. Investors will also wait for Eurozone unemployment data for June and preliminary CPI data from France and Germany expected later in the day.
Wall Street Journal
11 hours ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Safran Lifts 2025 Outlook After Earnings Rise on Civil Engine Aftermarket Activities
Safran SAF -0.32%decrease; red down pointing triangle raised its expectations for adjusted revenue and adjusted recurring operating income this year after earnings rose in the first six months of the year, driven by the company's civil engine aftermarket activities. The French aerospace-industry supplier said it expects its adjusted recurring operating income between 5.0 billion and 5.1 billion euros, equivalent to between $5.70 billion and $5.82 billion, compared with between 4.8 billion and 4.9 billion euros previously.
Reuters
11 hours ago
- Automotive
- Reuters
Safran picks France for major new carbon brakes investment
PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - French aerospace group Safran ( opens new tab said on Thursday it had picked France for a new carbon brakes factory, marking a major investment in its home nation following a closely watched competition with alternative sites in the U.S. and Canada. The partially state-owned company, which builds jet engines and competes with RTX (RTX.N), opens new tab unit Collins Aerospace to sell other equipment like brakes and landing gear, said the 30,000 square meter (323,000 facility near Lyon would cost over 450 million euros ($514.4 million) once fully completed. The announcement, alongside higher mid-year earnings, confirms a Reuters report on Wednesday that the Paris-based firm was poised to select France for its fourth such plant following a politically sensitive contest overshadowed by concerns over energy supplies. The outcome of the long-delayed contest is being closely scrutinised in France, where President Emmanuel Macron has made re-industrialisation a key political priority, while U.S. President Donald Trump is pressing Europe to invest more in the United States. Such investments have to be planned years ahead because of the size of the factories, but the long-delayed decision had become increasingly swept up in energy and trade politics. Earlier plans to base the site in Lyon, France's third-largest city, had been scrapped first due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, and then a sharp rise in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In a statement, Safran CEO Olivier Andries acknowledged the support of state electricity utility EDF in the decision over where to locate the plant, which will rely on biomethane and low-carbon electricity. Energy can account for a third of the cost of making carbon brakes, and industry sources said Safran had clashed in the past with EDF over the availability of affordable supplies, though tensions had eased following a recent change of EDF management. Safran, which pioneered the use of carbon brakes for both jetliners and Formula 1 racing cars, said they were lighter and more durable than traditional steel, allowing airlines to reduce fuel consumption. The new site at the Plaine de l'Ain industrial park will begin operations in 2030 and allow Safran to increase production by 25% between now and 2037 by joining a network of three existing sites in France, the US and Malaysia, the company said. ($1 = 0.8747 euros)
Reuters
13 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
France's Safran raises 2025 outlook after higher mid-year profit
PARIS, July 31 (Reuters) - French aerospace group Safran ( opens new tab raised its annual forecasts after posting higher-than-expected first-half profits on Thursday, led by brisk demand for spare parts for jet engines. Safran, which together with GE Aerospace (GE.N), opens new tab co-produces engines for Airbus and Boeing medium-haul jets, also reported higher maintenance profits and saw its recently troubled cabin interiors business edge further into the black. The company's closely watched recurring operating income rose 27% after certain adjustments to 2.51 billion euros ($2.87 billion), as revenues climbed 13% to 14.77 billion euros. Analysts were on average expecting first-half recurring operating profit of 2.39 billion euros on revenue of 14.74 billion euros, according to a company-compiled consensus. Safran raised its full-year forecast for the same profit measure to between 5.0 billion and 5.1 billion euros, up from a previous range of 4.8 billion to 4.9 billion. It predicted revenue growth in the low teens, instead of around 10%. Founded from a merger of state engine maker Snecma and electronics firm Sagem 20 years ago, Safran last week closed the $1.8-billion acquisition of the actuation and flight controls business of Collins Aerospace. It also sold a smaller U.S. business in line with regulators' demands for clearing the Collins acquisition. Safran said the combined transactions would add between 600 million and 700 million euros to group revenues over the rest of the year. ($1 = 0.8747 euros)
