Arianespace Trails Red Ink Amid Order, Launch Surge

摘要

Severe pricing pressure and heavy in-vestment loads plunged Arianespace into the red last year, despite record orders and launches. Chairman/CEO Jean-Marie Luton said the company would post a net loss of more than 200 million euros ($188 million) for 2000, compared with a 7.3-million-euro profit a year earlier. The earnings slide marred an otherwise remarkable performance that saw sales rise 10% to 1.1 billion euros—on the strength of a record 12 launches, including eight in the last four months, and 16 payloads—and orders zoom to new heights.