Dear Shareholder,
Even in extremely challenging market conditions, EADS is capable of carrying off major commercial successes and delivering a robust business performance.
At the Paris Air Show in June, Airbus signed agreements for 127 new aircraft worth 12.9 billion dollars in total. This tally exceeded many people’s expectations. Earlier this year, Arianespace awarded Astrium a contract for the production of 35 Ariane 5 launchers, worth € 4 billion. A few weeks ago, our Defence & Security Division received a further vote of confidence: the four nations, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK, signed up for Tranche 3A of the Eurofighter programme, giving the go-ahead for production to start on 112 additional aircraft. The Saudi Arabia border surveillance contract, for a security programme covering the full borders of the country – a length of 9,000 km – is the largest one ever competed worldwide as a full solution. That contract, awarded to EADS Defence & Security as prime contractor, is a sign that the Company means business with Vision 2020, the plan drawn up by our CEO Louis Gallois that aims to establish a more balanced EADS.
Continuing orders, as well as the Company’s huge order backlog of close to € 400 billion, its disciplined financial management and strong net cash position of € 8.1 billion, provide EADS with a level of resilience. EADS is gradually regaining credibility, as shown by the successful
€ 1 billion bond issue early in August – books were closed within 30 minutes after orders of more than € 8 billion –, and as reflected in the current EADS share price evolution. At the same time, we are addressing current challenges, reducing costs through our ongoing improvement programmes and working hard to get the A400M programme back on track. But we are also looking to the future beyond.
In recent months, the world’s economies have been sending out ambiguous signals. Some observers point to possible signs that the recession may be bottoming out, others warn against any talk yet of a speedy recovery.
Here at EADS we remain vigilant, carefully and continuously monitoring developments along with our customers and suppliers, especially as far as our commercial aircraft business is concerned. But we are confident. And I believe we have every reason to be so.
NATHALIE ERRARD
Head of Investor Relations and Financial Communication
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