Reporting its annual results for the 2017 financial year, Stadler said it had seen ‘a successful year’, and now employed more staff than before the Swiss currency market ‘dislocations’ in 2015. Incoming orders amounted to SFr3·5bn, with a ‘considerable proportion’ coming from BLS, SBB and SOB in Switzerland. The Service division garnered record orders of SFr800m, representing 22% of the total; this includes a 35-year deal to maintain the new Merseyrail fleet in the UK, as well as Flirt multiple-units in Italy and the Netherlands. Looking ahead, Stadler expects its annual turnover to increase from SFr2·4bn in 2017 to SFr3·9bn by 2020.
On June 20 Trinity Industries reported that wholly-owned subsidiaries Trinity Industries Leasing Co and Trinity Rail Leasing 2018 had closed a two-tranche, wagon asset-backed securitisation in the aggregate amount of US$482·5m with a blended coupon of 4·41% and a weighted average life of around eight years. ‘We were pleased with the high level of investor interest’, said Senior Chief Financial Officer James E Perry. ‘The net proceeds from the issuance facilitates the redemption of our convertible subordinated notes ahead of the company’s planned spin-off of its infrastructure-related businesses in the fourth quarter of 2018.’
Owned since 2014 by a consortium of investors including Alberta Investment Management Corp, Allianz Capital Partners, EDF Invest and Hastings Fund Management, UK rolling stock leasing company Porterbrook has completed an £885m refinancing, with facilities made available by a syndicate of 11 banks. The syndicate was advised by Ashurst, which has assisted with various Porterbrook loan facilities and subsequent refinancings since 2008.
Smart safety specialist HIMA Paul Hildebrandt GmbH inaugurated a new Innovation & Development Centre in Kassel on June 27. This will enable the Embedded Solutions business segment to develop miniaturised safety systems based on HIMA's own chip technology, under the leadership of Technology Director Stefan Gölz.
As part of a recent investment programme, electric motor manufacturer Sulzer has developed a dedicated in-house test and development laboratory for high-voltage coils at the company’s UK Centre of Excellence for coil design, manufacture and supply in Birmingham.