(The Canadian Press circulated the following on September 3.)
MONTREAL — Bombardier Transportation is poised to take advantage of growing global demand for rail services aided by global urbanization along with concerns about the cost of fuel and greenhouse gas emissions, an industry analyst said Tuesday.
“As the world’s largest rail equipment manufacturer, with leading market share and a strong position in global emerging markets, we believe Bombardier Transportation will be a key beneficiary of the renaissance of the rails,” Fadi Chamoun of UBS wrote in a report.
Chamoun expects the transportation division will improve its profit margins to six per cent by 2010 following restructuring, increased deliveries and improved manufacturing and purchasing efficiency.
Its current backlog is $31.4 billion.
The Berlin-based division’s progress was aided Tuesday when a joint venture with Siemens Transportation Systems won a contract for a 121-car order from Swiss federal railway Schweizerische Bundesbahnen.
The low-floor intermediate double-deck coaches are valued at a total of 189 million euros, or US$277 million, and the companies said Tuesday with a “foreseeable option” for 40 more cars.
Siemens’ share is 122 million euros and Bombardier’s share amounts to 67 million euros, or US$98 million.
Deliveries are set for between October 2010 and March 2016.