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Aviation History
1987
1987 - 0040.PDF
INDUSTRY R-R power for the City LONDON With privatisation imminent, Rolls-Royce chairman Sir Francis Tombs announces record profits, £120 million after tax for 1986, the third successive year of profit. Sales exceeded £1,800 million, up more than 12 per cent on the previous year. Civil aero engine business is now bigger than military aero-engine business—42 per cent compared with 41 per cent. Reports from Rolls-Royce trade union sources that the company plans to diversify into non-manufacturing activities are discounted by Tombs. An internal manage ment report proposing diversification into banking, food, oil, and other service industries, allowing the aero engine business share to contract to 25 per cent, came from "a very junior manage ment level a year ago", says Tombs. It got no further "because it was so ridiculous". He categorically discounts any proposal to close the East Kilbride factory. He describes the document as "rather silly and a red herring". Rolls-Royce unions insist that the document was offi cially shown to their represen tatives by directors, and that "there's more truth in it than the company will allow". Rolls-Royce employs 42,000, compared with 72,000 five years ago, and the order- book backlog at the end of 1986 amounted to £3,100 million. To add to the company's investor appeal, the UK Government will write off £283 million of debts, following £372 million written off in 1985. Since 1971 the Government has supplied Rolls-Royce with more than £1,000 million in the form of equity capital (1986 prices), according to information given to Parlia ment by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry. No dividends have been paid on this equity. In addition, "launch aid" of about £500 million (1986 prices) was given by the Government for New product for the wastebin Kidde's new fire extinguisher goes in airliner washroom wastebins and discharges automatically at 70°C. It meets CAA Airworthiness Notice 60 about aircraft lavatory fire protection. Kidde has also developed smoke detectors and a control panel providing warning lights, sounder, fault warn ing, reset, and system test. The system operates on the ionising principle, detecting even invisible products of combustion, and is thief-proof (Bill Mesley, Walter Kidde, Belvue Road, Northolt, Middlesex, UB5 5QW, England; tel 01-845 7711). specific new aero engines from 1971 to 1982; a further £198 million (current prices) has been provided since then, plus just over £143 million for the now fully funded RB.211-22B, on which version of the big civil turbofan the Govern ment has taken receipts from 555 engines worth £330 million. Other launch aid has so far produced another £210 million in levies on sales. Rolls-Royce goes to the City with zero borrowings, and with the prospect of a flotation worth at least £1 billion. RAAF707 tanker bids CANBERRA ~ Australia's Defence Minister, Kim Beazley, has set April 29 as the closing date for bids to convert RAAF 707s to tank ers. Tenders are being sought in Australia and overseas for the first-stage conversion of four Boeing 707s to in flight refuellers. Australian industry is expected to play a major part in the modifications. The conversion will involve two wing-mounted hose and drogue refuelling pods and the on-board avionics for naviga tion and fuel-transfer monitoring. The object is to increase the range-payload and endurance of RAAF F/A-18 Hornets. Contracts are expected to be let by December, according to Beazley. Lockheed sales 87 percent Government BURBANK Lockheed sales in 1986 were $10,273 million for a profit of $408 million, compared with $9,535 million and $401 million in the previous year. Sales to the US Government accounted for 87 per cent of the 1986 total, and sales to foreign governments for 6 per cent. Chairman and chief execu tive officer L. O. Kitchen warns that future profits are uncertain as the US Govern ment tightens defence procurement procedures. Already the company is under pressure to renegotiate the fixed-price C-5B contract, and this will have a "constraining effect" on oper ating profit margins. "It is becoming increasingly diffi cult to forecast the future", he says, with "Government demands for contractor cost- sharing in new programmes, increasing investment in new technologies, and intensified competition for declining national defence spending." The company's funded backlog at the year's end was $9,700 million, compared with $9,000 million for the previous year. WHO'S NEWS Pratt & Whitney's offsets management director, Allan Urban, is elected chairman of the US Defence Industry Off set Association, comprising 50 US aerospace companies which have offset agreements with international customers. W. M. Mike Conlin replaces Al Brizzolara as president of Jet Electronics and Tech nology (JET), bought by BFGoodrich aerospace and defence division last Decem ber. Dr Val Peline becomes presi dent of Lockheed electronic systems, moving from presi dent and general manager of the company's space systems division, where he is replaced by Minora (Sam) Araki. Peline succeeds Roy A. Anderson, interim electron ics president since retiring as Lockheed chairman in 1985. Walter Kidde's new technical sales engineer Europe is Crawford Morrow. 38 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL, 4 April 1987
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