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[maywillow] 25/3/2004 13:43

VILLENEUVE SAINT-GEORGES, Val de Marne (AFX) - Ste Nationale des Chemins de
Fer Francais chairman Louis Gallois said the company's contract for 400 diesel
freight locomotives from a consortium of Alstom SA and Siemens AG is worth about
850 mln eur.
Speaking at a signing ceremony here, Alstom chairman Patrick Kron said
Alstom's share of the contract is "close to 500 mln eur."
SNCF announced an order for 500 locomotives in February, 400 of which
constituted a firm order. The maximum price for the total potential order was
put at 1.065 bln eur.
Delivery of the 400 locomotives will begin from June 2006 at a rate of four
per month.
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[grupo guitarlumber] 22/3/2004 19:05

Alstom wins Chinese hydro plant orders


22 March 2004 - Alstom has recently won two orders for the supply of hydropower equipment in China. The combined order value is in excess of €30m ($36.8m).

The first of these orders was awarded by the Guizhou Wujiang Hydropower Development Corporation Ltd. for the supply of three generators to the Goupitan Hydropower station, which has a total installed capacity of 3000 MW.

The second order was awarded by the Guizhou Tengyuan Power Development Co., Ltd., for the supply of a 125 MW turbine for the extension of the Dongfeng Hydropower Station.

Both power stations are located on the upstream of the Wujiang River, the river that borders Qingzhen City and Qianxi County in China's Southwest Guizhou Province.

Tianjin Alstom Hydro Co., Ltd., a unit of Alstom in China, is responsible for both projects. The delivery of equipment for Goupitan is scheduled for 2009 and 2010, and Dongfeng for 2005

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/3/2004 21:36

BAE, Thales Roles in U.K. Brief Under Review (Update1)
March 20 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Ministry of Defence said it has yet to decide whether BAE Systems Plc, Europe's biggest weapons maker, and Thales SA, the region's second-biggest defense company, will have the lead contractor role in its 2.8 billion- pound ($5.1 billion) aircraft carrier project.

The Ministry has made ``good progress on the design of the carriers with BAE and Thales,'' said a spokeswoman for the ministry who declined to be named. The composition of the contracting team remains to be determined, she said. ``We have some important decisions to make,'' she said.

BAE and France's Thales, which teamed up for the project to build two carriers, last year were named ``preferred prime contractor,'' the Financial Times reported today. Next week, neither will be confirmed in the lead role in what is the biggest contract ever awarded by the Royal Navy, the paper said.

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/3/2004 12:26

BAE set to be rebuffed over carriers
By Peter Spiegel and Mark Odell in London
Published: March 19 2004 21:59 | Last Updated: March 19 2004 21:59


The UK's Ministry of Defence is expected to finalise the make-up of the industry team that will build the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers next week - a structure that will leave BAE Systems out of the role of prime contractor, people familiar with the decision said on Friday.


When the ministry announced the winner of the carrier competition last year, BAE was named as the "preferred prime contractor" in a partnership with the UK arm of French defence contractor Thales. But in a decision expected to be published in a letter to the industrial partners next week, neither Thales nor BAE will be named as prime.

The exact structure of the team is still being ironed out, and, according to people close to the industry, it is the subject of internal disagreement within the MoD. Some senior officials within the MoD's defence procurement agency (DPA) are pushing for the prime contracting role to be taken in-house, with the government managing the project on its own, industry sources said.

Alternatively, a third company with expertise in large project management could be brought in to take over the lead role. Under such a scenario, the contract could be broken up into pieces, with one company taking the lead on shipbuilding and another taking on the ship's internal systems.

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/3/2004 12:23

BAE set to be rebuffed over carriers
By Peter Spiegel and Mark Odell in London
Published: March 19 2004 21:59 | Last Updated: March 19 2004 21:59


The UK's Ministry of Defence is expected to finalise the make-up of the industry team that will build the Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers next week - a structure that will leave BAE Systems out of the role of prime contractor, people familiar with the decision said on Friday.


When the ministry announced the winner of the carrier competition last year, BAE was named as the "preferred prime contractor" in a partnership with the UK arm of French defence contractor Thales. But in a decision expected to be published in a letter to the industrial partners next week, neither Thales nor BAE will be named as prime.

The exact structure of the team is still being ironed out, and, according to people close to the industry, it is the subject of internal disagreement within the MoD. Some senior officials within the MoD's defence procurement agency (DPA) are pushing for the prime contracting role to be taken in-house, with the government managing the project on its own, industry sources said.

Alternatively, a third company with expertise in large project management could be brought in to take over the lead role. Under such a scenario, the contract could be broken up into pieces, with one company taking the lead on shipbuilding and another taking on the ship's internal systems.

[grupo guitarlumber] 20/3/2004 09:54

ALSTOM wins air pollution control systems orders for a combined order value of over 85 million Euro

March 18, 2004 -- ALSTOM has recently won a series of orders to supply, deliver and install air pollution control systems in various industry applications and countries around the world:

In Malaysia, ALSTOM won a contract to install three Seawater Flue Gas Desulfurization (SWFGD) units and three Electrostatic Precipitator (ESP) units for SKS Power's 3 x 700 MW Tanjung Bin power plant in Johor, Malaysia. The order was placed by Ishikawajima Harima Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (IHI) of Japan, part of a consortium led by Sumitomo.

In China, ALSTOM will supply an ESP unit, including flue gas conditioning system to the Zhanjian Power Station, an orimulsion fired power plant and in addition, a further contract for a SWFGD solution for the 2 x 300 MW Qingdao power plant.

In Spain, ALSTOM will implement the enlargement and modification of the As Pontes T.P.P. Precipitators in Galicia. The contract includes engineering, manufacture and supply, quality control, transport, and erection of new equipment, as well testing and commissioning using 100% imported coal. The order was placed by Endesa Generación S.A.

In India, ALSTOM will supply Technopromexport an ESP unit for the 5 x 50 MW Obra power station. Work will begin in January 2004 and scheduled for completion by September 2004.

[grupo guitarlumber] 19/3/2004 16:02

PARIS (AFX) - Alstom SA confirmed its total order for 26 Pendolino trains is worth 544 mln eur.

The total sum comprises an order for 12 trains from Trenitalia, the passenger and freight division of the Italian railway group Ferrovie dello Stato, for 240 mln eur.

The other part of the order is for 14 trains from Italo-Swiss group Cisalpino for 304 mln eur, which was announced earlier this month as around 300 mln eur.

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[grupo guitarlumber] 18/3/2004 18:38

March 18, 2004

Gaz de France exercises option for second Alstom LNG carrier

Gaz de France and Alstom signed a letter of intent on July 3,2003 for the construction of a 153,000 m3 LNG carrier, with an option for a second identical LNG carrier.

The order for the first LNG carrier was signed on September 29, 2003, for delivery at the end of October 2005.

Gaz de France has just confirmed the option for the second LNG carrier, in partnership with Japanese shipowner NYK Line.

The construction contract should be signed before the end of June 2004 with delivery of the carrier scheduled for the end of October 2006.

[grupo guitarlumber] 18/3/2004 14:58

LONDON, March 18 (New Ratings) - Analyst Andrew Carter of Deutsche Bank upgrades Alstom (ALSO.PA) from "hold" to "buy," while reducing his estimates for the company. The target price has been raised from €2.00 to €2.50.

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/3/2004 20:53

Areva chairman is ready for IPO go-ahead
By Martin Arnold in Paris
Published: March 17 2004 18:21 | Last Updated: March 17 2004 18:21


Anne Lauvergeon, chairman of Areva, said on Wednesday the state-owned French nuclear energy group was ready for flotation if the government decided to go ahead with a public offering in the first half of this year.


Mrs Lauvergeon, a former senior assistant to the late President François Mitterrand, also dismissed market speculation that Areva was considering buying all or part of Alstom, the struggling former champion of French engineering.

"The chairman of Alstom has replied to this [question] last weekend by saying that Alstom is today a stand-alone company and there are no more big businesses due for disposal," she said.

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 21:58

Alstom chosen for cruise ship contract
Alstom announced today that it has been chosen to build two 1,275 cabin cruise-ships, with an option for a third sister-ship, for Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC).

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 11:08

thanks kbass.

Will post on the SIER and RAIL threads as well.

[kbass] 16/3/2004 10:06

Here's the link to the article I mentioned above .....

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 08:37

FRANKFURT (AFX) - ThyssenKrupp AG and One Equity Partners (OEP) are in talks
about combining their respective German naval shipyard operations under one
roof, Handelsblatt reported citing company sources.
OEP owns shipyard Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) and is the private
equity unit of Bank One, which in turn is being bought by JP Morgan Chase Co.
Such a move could be a prelude to the creation of a European shipyard giant
along the lines of European defence giant EADS, Handelsblatt said, particularly
as France's Thales SA and state-owned DCN are also in tie-up talks.
Thales said again yesterday that it wants to play an active role in European
consolidation of the industry. It looked into buying HDW from OEP itself at the
end of last year but was deterred by the price.
scs/jfr

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 08:37

FRANKFURT (AFX) - ThyssenKrupp AG and One Equity Partners (OEP) are in talks
about combining their respective German naval shipyard operations under one
roof, Handelsblatt reported citing company sources.
OEP owns shipyard Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft (HDW) and is the private
equity unit of Bank One, which in turn is being bought by JP Morgan Chase Co.
Such a move could be a prelude to the creation of a European shipyard giant
along the lines of European defence giant EADS, Handelsblatt said, particularly
as France's Thales SA and state-owned DCN are also in tie-up talks.
Thales said again yesterday that it wants to play an active role in European
consolidation of the industry. It looked into buying HDW from OEP itself at the
end of last year but was deterred by the price.
scs/jfr

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 07:00

all fine

bright and sunny here. Tee shirt weather this afternoon.


will look out for the story.



enjoy your day

[kbass] 16/3/2004 06:49

Fine thanks - and you? I have not tracked down the online link for the article yet, but it will surely be in the Eurpoean press too.

[grupo guitarlumber] 16/3/2004 06:26

cheers kbass. trust you are well.

[kbass] 16/3/2004 02:23

Tiny help may be on the way: the Eurotrain consortium for the core system - that is, rolling stock, power supply, train control system and communications - of the Taiwan High Speed Rail project has been awarded 73 million USD following international arbitration under New York law as a result of THSRC's cancellation of the contract originally signed with Eurotrain and subsequently awarded to the Japanese consortium.

THSRC (the owner) are seemingly debating whether to go to law in Taiwan to seek to have the "foreign" award rendered invalid.

This was in the Taipei Times this morning, I will post the link as soon as the on-line version is published.

[grupo guitarlumber] 15/3/2004 07:22

(Repeating to clarify defence operating income figure in last paragraph)
(Updating with further details on outlook, restructuring charges, divisional
performance, net debt)
PARIS (AFX) - Thales SA said it forecasts a 'significant rise' in results
for 2005 and 2006 after reporting lower-than-expected full year operating profit
after restructuring charges (EBIT) and net profit.
For 2004, Thales said it expects further improvement in operating income,
spurred by a recovery in IT & Services, a favourable trend in defence and a
"solid" performance in Aerospace.
Thales said full year 2003 EBIT rose 11.2 pct to 497 mln eur from 447 mln
eur a year earlier, but was below analysts' forecasts for EBIT of 514-554 mln
eur.
Restructuring costs were higher than expected at 197 mln eur. Analysts had
forecast between 130-150 mln eur.
The company said this was due to accounting in 2003 for "nearly all"
remaining early retirement measures implemented in France as part of its CASA
programme.
Net debt over the year was reduced sharply, to 906 mln eur from 1.320 bln
eur at end-2002.
Net profit totalled 112 mln eur in 2003, up slightly from 111 mln eur a year
earlier, but below a consensus for net profit of 129 mln eur, according to the
JCF Group in Paris.
Net income before amortisation of goodwill, tax and minority interests fell
to 329 mln eur from 391 mln a year earlier.
Operating profit totalled 698 mln eur in 2003, up 16.9 pct from 597 mln eur
a year earlier. Thales also restated the year earlier figure at 662 mln eur, to
exclude one-off provisions for Euromissile.
The company said it plans to pay a dividend of 0.75 eur per share on 2003
results, up 7.1 pct from a year earlier.
For 2004, Thales said it forecasts a modest rise in full year sales at
constant exchange rates.
Thales in February reported full year 2003 sales of 10.588 bln eur, down 4.7
pct from 11.105 bln eur a year earlier, pressured by negative foreign exchange
impacts and the divestment of several businesses.
In its 2003 results statement, Thales highlighted a 16 pct rise in defence
order intake compared to 2002. The overall group order intake was only 2 pct,
negatively impacted by disposals made in the Aerospace and IT & Services
divisions.
The defence division book-to-bill ratio climbed to 1.05 from 0.9 in 2002.
Defence operating income rose to 545 mln eur in 2003 from 482 mln a year
earlier; Aerospace operating income rose to140 mln eur from 126 mln; and IT&S
showed a fall to 37 mln eur from 54 mln.
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