Encountering turbulent times after its privatisation in 1999, Indra's market capitalisation has bounced back to about €1.5 billion ($1.75 billion), nearly doubling its value compared to a year ago. Employing 6,500 people, its sales this year will come close to €1 billion ($1.12 billion). A Madrid savings bank holds around 10% of Indra, while former reference investor Thales has quietly disinvested and now has less than 3%. The rest of the shares are publicly traded.
Indra's aerospace activities are grouped around three strategic areas: air traffic management (ATM), simulation and space. Javier Ruano, Indra's director for ATM, says: "We are now the fifth largest provider worldwide with a yearly revenue of about €120 million. We have been very successful implementing ATM systems in 30 countries all over the world, most recently in central America - Bogota and Cabo Verde, not forgetting a €38 million contract with Eurocontrol in Maastricht."
Currently, Indra's most important prospect is with the UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS). "While Ruano only confirms that "Indra is making its best effort to offer NATS an optimal solution for its needs", other sources point out that NATS has changed its historic procurement strategy for this £1 billion, 10-year capital spending programme. "They can no longer afford to take politically influenced decisions. Indra can offer them a proven system and economies of scale, such as sharing new development costs with Aena or other operators using Indra's system," says a Madrid-based financial analyst.
Juan Felip, who heads the Simulation and Automatic Test Systems (SIMSAM) division, is particularly proud of the latest achievements: "The US Navy has selected Indra as the only non-US company for a small list of approved providers for their Training System Contract II, which manages funds of $3 billion. This confirms our technological ability to compete at the same level as other selected companies such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman." Indra also holds a 26% stake in Eurofighter Simulations Systems in Munich.
In the civil field, Indra recently won a $40 million order from Hainan airlines for Boeing 737-800 simulators. The company not only builds simulators, but operates them. "We're currently operating a helicopter simulator centre for the Spanish army and we have a joint venture with Senasa to jointly exploit an Airbus A340 simulator. This is an interesting model which could give us the opportunity to participate in the private financing initiative in the UK as a simulation services provider."
Indra's smallest aerospace division is Indra Espacio, in which Alcatel Space has a 49% stake. Its 125 employees in 2002 produced revenues of €37 million in satellite communications, imaging and navigation, with the Galileo project featuring heavily in future development plans.
Source: Flight International