European Aeronautic Defense Space Co

European aerospace group EADS on Wednesday issued its third profit warning in less than a year because of production problems at Airbus, which now expects to post a 2006 loss despite record aircraft deliveries. Extra costs linked to delays in deliveries of its A380 super-jumbo jet and a decision to bring forward some of the financial provisions budgeted for 2007 and beyond probably pushed Airbus into the red and left EADS near break-even in 2006, EADS said.

The board of Airbus parent EADS approved a restructuring plan for the troubled European aircraft maker Monday, breaking a weeklong deadlock over job cuts and future jet programs between France and Germany. The European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. said details would be released Wednesday after they were passed through company ranks. The plan will allow the civil airliner division of Airbus to "face the challenge of the U.S.

Major delays to Airbus' A380 super-jumbo jet that led to a $1.01-billion fourth-quarter loss made 2006 the worst year in European plane builder EADS' history, its co-chief executive said Friday. "It is clear ... it was the worst year for Airbus in its life," Louis Gallois said at European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co.'s annual news conference in southern Germany. The comment came after Amsterdam-based EADS said a weaker dollar and major delays at its Airbus unit dragged down annual profit.

Century City-based Northrop Grumman Corp. and its European partner, Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., named a team of U.S. subcontractors in their bid to win a $40-billion Air Force contract for a midair refueling tanker. Battling criticism that they're proposing a largely European product, Northrop officials said they had completed agreements with major suppliers including General Electric Co.'s GE Aviation, Honeywell International Inc. and General Dynamics Corp.

Arnaud Lagardere and other high-profile executives are being questioned by French market authorities investigating alleged insider dealing at European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., the parent of plane maker Airbus, a spokesman for Lagardere said. The probe focuses on the sale of millions of euros' worth of shares by top EADS executives in March and April 2006, weeks before the company announced major delays to the super-jumbo A380 that sent the stock price tumbling 26% in one day.

European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co. unveiled a model of a jet designed to take tourists into space, rocketing paying passengers to weightlessness at more than 62 miles above the Earth. EADS said it hoped that the space jet -- which looks much like a conventional aircraft although it is outfitted with rocket engines -- would be operational by next year, with the first flight scheduled for 2012.

Dubai International Capital, an investment company owned by United Arab Emirates Crown Prince Sheik Mohammed ibn Rashid al Maktum, became one of the biggest shareholders in European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., taking a 3.12% stake in the company. Dubai International Capital said it wouldn't seek a board seat or take an active role at the maker of Airbus commercial planes and military aircraft but would "seek to build a strategic relationship with the EADS management and shareholders."

paris -- Just as Airbus began selling its often-delayed super-jumbo jet as a success story, a report of "massive insider trading" at parent company EADS was leaked to the media Wednesday, raising the question of whether the beleaguered company can ever get ahead of its problems.

DaimlerChrysler said it would reduce by 7.5% its stake in European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., known as EADS, as it focuses on its core automotive business. DaimlerChrysler holds 30% of EADS, the majority owner of aircraft maker Airbus. The automaker values the 7.5% share it plans to sell at about 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion). DaimlerChrysler and Netherlands-based EADS said Lagardere, a French media company that holds 15% of EADS, also was reducing its stake by 7.5%.

British defense and aerospace group BAE Systems confirmed Friday that it was in discussions to sell its 20% stake in aircraft maker Airbus. BAE is negotiating with Franco-German group European Aeronautic Defense & Space Co., which owns the remaining 80% of Airbus, about the sale. EADS recently valued BAE's stake in the aircraft maker at 3.5 billion euros ($4.3 billion).