Air France-KLM posts 1.55b net loss

Air France-KLM posted record losses of ?1.55 billion (?1 = RM4.04) on Wednesday, as a shock new book on its safety record added to the problems facing Europe's biggest airline.

The giant net loss for the 2009-2010 financial year came as the Franco-Dutch carrier grappled with the global economic crisis and the fallout from a deadly accident last year.

Slumping air traffic, particularly for cargo, drove the company to its biggest loss since Air France and KLM merged in 2004. The latest results followed ?811 million (?1 = RM4.04) in red ink the previous year.

"2009-10 will go on record as our 'annus horribilis.' The global 'economic crisis had a profound effect on the entire airline industry," chief executive Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said in a statement.
He noted the company also had to grapple with an accident last June that saw Air France Flight 447 from Rio to Paris break apart and plunge into the Atlantic, killing all 228 people on board.

Against that backdrop, the company scrapped its dividend payment for the 2009-2010 financial year.

Gourgeon said restructuring of the airline's cargo business began bearing fruit in the fourth quarter, although the company's fuel bill rose for the first time during the year as the price of jet fuel surged 31 per cent.

The figures were released as the company's safety record came under harsh scrutiny with "The Hidden Face of Air France," an investigation by journalist Fabrice Amedeo into what he alleges are failures in Air France's management culture leading to a lax attitude to flight safety.

The carrier rejects the allegations.

Air France flights have fallen victim to several accidents in recent years and, according to the French daily Liberation, statistics compiled online rank its safety record as only the 65th best in the world.

And with 1,783 fatalities in its history, according to a tally compiled by the Swiss-based website "Aircraft Crashes Record Office," Air France has been the second deadliest airline for passengers after Russia's Aeroflot.

Germany's Lufthansa, which is of similar size and age, is in 43rd place.

"Air France has a fleet of ultramodern planes, and its pilots are among the best in the world... but its safety statistics are those of a second division company," Amedeo wrote in his book.

Gourgeon told reporters the book "is not worth a response," insisting that safety was the "number one concern of Air France." The company said separately that its safety standards "meet the most stringent requirements in the international aviation industry," noting it was continuously working on improving flight safety.

Source
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Air France KLM sinks to €1.56 billion fiscal-year loss

Air France KLM Group reported a heavy net loss of €1.56 billion ($1.93 billion) for its fiscal year ended March 31, nearly double its €814 million deficit in the prior year, but management reiterated that it believes a breakeven operating result is possible in the current financial year excluding the impact of pre-2009 fuel hedges and subject to costs related to the closure of European airspace owing to volcanic ash.

The group estimates that the Icelandic volcano-related disruptions April 15-21 caused €260 million in lost revenue with a €160 million impact on its operating result.

CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said, "2009-10 will go on record as our 'annus horribilis.' The global economic crisis had a profound effect on the entire airline industry. In addition, Air France KLM had to contend with the tragedy" of the A330-200that crashed last May 31, killing 228 (ATWOnline, May 7). Results for FY2009-10 include a negative impact of €637 million linked to pre-2009 fuel hedges.

Revenue fell 15% year-over-year to €20.99 billion including a 13.6% decline in passenger revenue to €16.27 billion. Total operating expenses dropped 14.8% to €13.24 billion. Operating loss deepened to €1.28 billion from €186 million in the prior year.

Passengers carried dipped 4.1% to 71.4 million and RPKs fell 3.2% to 202.5 billion on a 4.3% cut in capacity to 251.1 billion ASKs. Passenger load factor improved 1 point to 80.7%. Yield was down 10.8% on the previous year to €0.0765 and RASK decreased 9.7% to €0.0615. CASK slid 4.6% to €0.0646.

For the fiscal year's fourth quarter ended March 31, AF KLM posted a €691 million net loss, up 44.3% from a €479 million deficit in the year-ago period. Quarterly revenue slipped just 0.8% year-over-year to €5.02 billion as both passenger and cargo demand picked up and restructuring of the cargo business launched in the previous quarter started to bear fruit. Unit revenue was up 2.7% per ASK and 30.9% per ATK.

Operating costs dipped 1.4% to €5.52 billion and 4.1% excluding fuel, reducing operating loss for the quarter 7.1% to €497 million, of which €381 million was attributed to passenger activity. Excluding the negative impact of fuel hedges, operating loss would have been €324 million.

The company is in negotiations with the relevant authorities concerning the eventual level of compensation for the volcano disruptions, Gourgeon said, noting that AF KLM also is "actively working with the authorities to define a comprehensive and pragmatic approach to the volcanic ash risk so as to avoid the repetition of unnecessary flight operation stoppages in the future."

Source : ATWOnline
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Yahoo layoffs to spread to France

France isn't immune to the layoffs that Yahoo began last year.

PaidContent.org reported Tuesday that 52 of the country's 251 employees will lose their jobs, citing Agence France-Presse.

Yahoo spokesman Brad Williams said employees in France will be affected by the Yahoo layoff that began in December, cutting 10 percent of staff worldwide, or 1,520 people. Because of different regulations, the French cuts are taking place later than those in the United States, and employees haven't yet been notified.

Williams declined to comment on the number who will be losing jobs or the timing of the cuts. However, a Yahoo source familiar with the situation said the Agence France-Presse figure is in the right ballpark.

Source : Cnet
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Valeo Car Parts Maker plans 5,000 job cuts

French car parts maker Valeo said on Wednesday it was cutting its full year targets and would seek to reduce its headcount, to cope with a sharp fall in automobile production.

Carmakers and suppliers worldwide are seeking government help to cope with a deepening crisis that is engulfing the industry, as automobile sales have plummeted due to the effects of the credit crisis and the worsening economic outlook on consumer confidence.

Valeo said it expected a 25 percent drop in sales in the fourth quarter, and a negative operating margin for the period. It does not see an improvement in production levels in 2009, compared with the fourth quarter 2008.

It now forecasts an operating margin of around 2.6 percent for the full year 2008. At its third quarter sales presentation in October, the group had stuck to a revised target of a margin around 3.6 percent.

Valeo, whose major customers include French car manufacturers PSA Peugeot Citroen and Renault said it also presented its European Works Council with a plan to cut around 5,000 jobs worldwide, out of around 54,000 employees in total.

The group said job losses, of which around 1,600 would be in France, and 1,800 in other European countries, would be achieved through a plan prioritising voluntary departures.

Valeo CEO Thierry Morin said in a statement that the group has no significant debt reimbursement due before January 2011.

Source : Reuters
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Alcatel-Lucent To Cut 1000 Managerial Jobs

Source : InformationWeek
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession global recession layoff job cut]

Peugeot Citroen to Cut 2700 Jobs

French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen plans to cut 2,700 jobs and said on Thursday that due to the financial crisis and the sector's turmoil car sale volumes in main European markets would drop by at least 10 percent in 2009 and 17 percent in the fourth quarter.

Peugeot said it will present the plan to its works council on Dec. 2. It also involves the re-assignments of workers to other group sites while another 850 people at the Rennes site could be concerned by a plan for voluntary redundancies.

Human Resources Director Jean-Luc Vergne said in a statement that if the group did not act, it could have put the future of the carmaker and its 200,000 jobs in danger.

PSA Peugeot Citroen slashed its 2008 profitability outlook in October and announced "massive" production cuts to combat the sales crisis that is hitting auto makers, after posting a 5.2 percent drop in third-quarter turnover.

Peugeot shares fell 3.3 percent to 12.89 euros by 0812 GMT.

Source : Reuters
[tags : recession bankrupt collapse retrenchment financial news collapse stagnation economic slowdown financial collapse world recession]