Mercedes 2002 Annual Report Download - page 56

50 |Other Activities
Major contracts for Airbus in a difficult market
At the end of 2002, Airbus had 300 new orders, thereby
maintaining its strong market position, equivalent to
a market share of 54% in terms of both units and value.
Airbus was awarded major contracts by easyJet (for
120 aircraft of the A319 jet) and by FedEx (for 10 freight-
version A380 jets). Firm orders for A380 aircraft
increased to 95 units in 2002. With 303 planes delivered
in 2002, Airbus also achieved its goal of delivering 300
aircraft. On December 31, 2002, there was an order
backlog for 1,505 Airbus aircraft, equivalent to full pro-
duction capacity for more than five years related to
production levels at the end of the year.
Success in the defense segment
The success of EADS in the defense segment was
largely due to orders for missile systems and defense
electronics.
Together with its North American partners, EADS was
selected as preferred bidder to supply mission aircraft
and radar systems to the US Coast Guard. EADS thus
strengthened its long-term competitive position in this
strategically important market.
Other EADS units developing as planned
The Aeronautics unit developed positively in 2002,
largely as a result of a solid performance by the Euro-
copter helicopter production company. However,
due to ongoing market weakness, the Space unit remains
problematical. Restructuring and operating-cost control
measures within this business will therefore continue
to have top priority in 2003.
Mitsubishi Motors
Further improvement in earnings
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC), the fourth-largest
Japanese automaker, continued to restructure in 2002
and succeeded in increasing sales, revenues and earnings.
In the first six months of the financial year ending on
March 31, 2003, sales of MMC vehicles were up 8% to
874,000 units (1st half 2001/02: 808,000 units). Unit
sales of passenger cars increased to 798,000 during the
same period (1st half 2001/02: 736,000). Within these
overall numbers, sharp declines in sales in Japan (-10%)
and Europe (-8%) were more than offset by substantial
increases in North America (+12%) and other markets
(+25%). Unit sales of commercial vehicles increased
to 76,000 in the first six months of the financial year (1st
half 2001/02: 72,000). This was largely due to higher
sales in Asia, the Middle East and Africa.
Revenues during the first six months of the financial
year ending on March 31, 2003 increased by 6% to
¥1,619 billion (113.9 billion), the first rise since 1997.
Whereas revenues from worldwide passenger car sales
were up 8% to ¥1,276 billion (110.9 billion), a severe
contraction in the Japanese market for commercial
vehicles made it impossible to equal the previous year’s
¥352.4 billion (1st half 2002/03: ¥342.5 billion =
12.9 billion).
The operating profit according to Japanese GAAP of
¥23.5 billion (1201 million) for the first six months of
2002/2003 was ¥36.6 billion (1313 million) higher than
in the first half of 2001/02. This improvement was
primarily due the progress made with the restructuring
program, but also to the growth in revenues.
Significant progress with restructuring
The restructuring program at Mitsubishi Motors has
made significant progress. The earnings improvement
target for the first half of fiscal year 2002/03 was
significantly exceeded. In June 2002, MMC left the
Japanese supplier organization Kashiwa-Kai. That move
allowed it to implement a more cost-efficient pro-
curement process that can be conducted on a broader
international supplier base. MMC therefore expects
the 15% savings in material costs targeted for financial
year 2003/04 to be achieved sooner than planned.