Photo: Ryan Remiorz, The canadian Press
The cockpit of the Global 7500 Bombardier. As at 31 march, the backlog for business jets was down 6% compared to 2019.
The action of Bombardier has sunk far below the $ 1 Monday. What was once a giant in the field of transport and aeronautics will consist of more the benchmark S&P / TSX.
The class B share of Bombardier closed the session Monday at 46 cents, down 11.5 % compared to Friday’s close.
At the end of its quarterly magazine, the designer of S& PDow Jones Indices pointed out, in the end of the day on Friday that the company’s stock will be removed from the S&P 60 and the broader S&P / TSX composite index as of 22 June. Trading now in the category of “penny stock ” (the value to less than $ 1), the company no longer meets the eligibility criteria for the reference indices, based on liquidity and capitalization.
New cuts
The pandemic has, therefore, added to the disappointment in the market that Bombardier, in which the action stays below the $ 1 since the end of February.
At 46 ¢, it shows a decline of 76 % since the beginning of the year. At the top of the last five years reached in the middle of 2018, it was to the 5,41 $.
“Bombardier is, and remains, one of the largest industrial players in the Canada with more than 15,000 employees,” said Bombardier, The canadian Press, saying at the same time keep the focus on its transformation and on the reduction of its debt burden.
Betting a focus in business aviation, Bombardier had to announce further cuts last week after it warned that the industry would see its shipments plunge by about 30 % compared to what was predicted earlier. Some 2,500 positions will need to be cut off by the end of the year, of which 1,500 are in Quebec.
11,5%
It is the decline of the class B share of Bombardier at the close of the session of Monday, compared to Friday’s close.
“It is very regrettable to have to resort to these reductions. However, we have reached the maximum of our ability to maintain our employment levels before the crisis of the COVID-19, wrote the president of the Aviation division, Bombardier’s David Coleal, in an internal note to staff.
Bombardier Aviation has 22 000 employees worldwide, of which 10,000 are in Quebec. As at 31 march, the backlog for business jets was $ 13.6 billion, down 6 % compared to 2019.
Fusion : kick-off
In the meantime, Bombardier continues to be engaged in the process of sale of its transport division. Alstom has meant the last week its proposed takeover of Bombardier Transportation for approximately 9.2 billion to the european Commission, guardian of competition in Europe, said a spokesman for the railway builder French. “This really gives the kick-off of the procedure,” he explained to the AFP on Friday, stating that the terms of the agreement remained unchanged.
Alstom had signed in February a memorandum of agreement with Bombardier, and the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec. The Fund, which currently owns 32.5% of Bombardier Transportation, must become, at the end of the transaction, the main shareholder of Alstom with approximately 18 % of the capital. She must reinvest in Alstom the entirety of the net proceeds from the sale of its stake in Bombardier Transportation, and to invest 700 million euros extra in the group.
“The discussions with Europe is going well, and we have already secured funding “, had noticed the p.-d. g. of Alstom, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, during the presentation of the results of the French group on 12 may. The closing of the transaction is expected in the first half of 2021, if the competition authorities do not put sticks in the wheels.
According to its website, the european Commission has until July 16 to a first examination of the case. If she feared a negative impact of the project for the competition, it may launch a more in-depth investigation (which lasts roughly four months) before reaching a final decision. To try to coax, the companies may offer concessions intended to leave the place of their rivals, by disposing of activities, for example.
Brussels had vetoed the bill in February 2019 to a proposed takeover of Alstom by the German group Siemens, fearing a too dominant in Europe in the railway signalling and high-speed trains. But the power of the juggernaut chinese CRRC can play influence. With a total turnover of over 15 billion euros and an order book in excess of $ 75 billion, a wedding Alstom-Bombardier needs to create a powerful group, capable of facing up to CRRC.
With Agence France-Presse
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