AIR SHOW: GKN Aerospace Wins $1.5B In Deals In First Half

19th Jul 2010 07:00

By Jonathan Buck Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--GKN PLC (GKN.LN) Sunday said in the first six months of 2010 its aerospace unit had won $1.5 billion in new business, securing development and production activity through the next decade. "This will support our growth objectives in the future," GKN Aerospace Chief Executive Marcus Bryson said in a statement ahead of the opening of the Farnborough International Air Show. The new business is in the form of long-term agreements with engine makers Rolls-Royce Group PLC (RR.LN) and Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (UTX), and GE Aviation, part of General Electric Co. (GE), and a life-of-program contract with Airbus extending its activity on the A350 XWB. Airbus is a unit of European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. NV (EAD.FR). Under the terms of a 10-year $300 million deal, GKN Aerospace will manufacture a range of complex flight-critical engine structures for Rolls-Royce's Trent 700 and 1000 engines. It will produce high-performance titanium engine ducts for the F135 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for Pratt & Whitney in a 10-year $360 million agreement. GKN Aerospace signed a five-year deal with GE Aviation worth $300 million to supply flight critical, aluminium and titanium components for a range of engines including the GEnx-1B as well as the CFM56 and GP7200 engine families for both Boeing Co. (BA) and Airbus aircraft. It also will develop and supply to Airbus all the composite elements of the A350 XWB's outboard and inboard landing flaps. GKN said this is a significant extension to GKN Aerospace's existing activity on the wing of the A350 XWB, for which it already is supplying the composite rear spar and fixed trailing-edge assemblies. GKN, an engineering company whose activities span the automotive, off-highway and industrial markets, didn't put a value on its work for Airbus. In the first quarter, GKN announced $300 million of deals to provide composite winglets for the Bombardier Inc. (BBD.B.T) CSeries aircraft, and for the supply of a variety of composite and metallic components for the F-35 Lightning II. GKN in April said GKN Aerospace was expected to deliver another strong performance for the fiscal year, with margins improving steadily from the first quarter and reaching double digits. -By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9237; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 19, 2010 02:00 ET (06:00 GMT)