Satellite and rocket-hardware manufacturer OHB AG on May 15 said it had shipped the first of its Galileo navigation satellites to a European center for preflight testing, a milestone that could permit two OHB-built Galileo spacecraft to be ready for launch by September. Bremen, Germany-based OHB, which has emerged as Europe's third satellite system prime contractor after Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, said it is on track to post double-digit revenue and profit increases this year despite a sharp drop in profitability in the first three months of the year. In a conference call with investors, OHB Chief Financial Officer Kurt Melching said the company had factored in a poor first-quarter profitability when it told investors its revenue would increase by 11 percent this year, surpassing 700 million euros ($910 million), and that pretax profit would climb 16 percent, to more than 36 million euros.
展开▼
