6th Sep 2023. 8.55am
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EasyJet team up with Airbus and Rolls-Royce to form Hydrogen alliance
Airbus, EasyJet (EZJ), and Rolls-Royce have formed the Hydrogen in Aviation (HIA) alliance with the aim of advancing hydrogen-powered aviation in the UK and addressing decarbonization in the industry.
They are committed to ensuring that necessary infrastructure, policies, regulations, and safety frameworks are in place for the emergence of hydrogen-powered aircraft.
Airbus plans to introduce a hydrogen-powered commercial plane by 2035, and easyJet aspires to be its first customer.
Hydrogen flight is among several technologies being explored to achieve the aviation industry’s goal of reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Challenges include a sustainable hydrogen supply, aircraft redesign, and airport infrastructure development.
The HIA alliance, which also includes GKN Aerospace and Orsted, will collaborate with government and regulators to establish the required frameworks and intends to release a report by the end of 2023 outlining milestones for hydrogen-powered flight over the next decade.
EZJ Daily Candle Chart
Prudential’s annualised premium equivalent sales jump 37%
Prudential (PRU) reported a 3.6% increase in first-half operating profit, driven by a resurgence of Chinese investors purchasing insurance products in Hong Kong, its primary revenue hub.
Prudential’s strong performance was reflected in its annualised premium equivalent (APE) sales, which rose by 37% to $3 billion, largely due to increased sales from Chinese mainland visitors.
The relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and border controls in China allowed mainland visitors to resume buying insurance in Hong Kong, which has traditionally been a conduit for Chinese investment overseas.
Prudential plans to invest approximately $1 billion in areas like its distribution networks, focusing on organic growth rather than mergers and acquisitions. The company also revealed a strategy that includes targeted investments in growth markets across Asia and Africa, aiming for substantial annual growth in new business profit and operating free surplus by 2027.
Whilst the headline boost in profit beat analysts’ expectations and led to a rally in Prudential’s shares last week, concerns over China’s stagnating economic growth have see the shares give back most of the ground made from last week’s bounce.
PRU Daily Candle Chart
Qinetiq win $224m contract US Space Development Agency
Qinetiq (QQ.) have secured a substantial five-year, $224 million firm-fixed-price contract to provide mission support to the US Space Development Agency (SDA).
The deal is said to enhance Qinetiq’s existing strong relationship with the SDA and is expected to result in incremental growth compared to previous collaborations. Over the duration of the five-year contract, Qinetiq will be responsible for delivering management and professional services, acquisition support, engineering expertise, and technical assistance required for the successful implementation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture program.
Qinteiq CEO, Steve Wadey commented:
“Securing this new contract is an important milestone in the delivery of the ambitious growth plan for our US business, including the excellent capabilities we acquired with Avantus last year. It demonstrates our strategy is working, providing confidence that we will deliver good returns, both organically and through acquisitions. We remain confident in our plan to deliver high single-digit organic revenue growth at stable profit margins.”
This contract represents a significant achievement for the Avantus business, which Qinetiq acquired just last November, and it plays a key role in their objective of achieving over 10% annual revenue growth from Avantus.
The market was impressed by this contract win and Qinetiq’s share price has rallied more than 10% from its August lows.
QQ. Daily Candle Chart
Vodafone teams up with Amazon’s Project Kuiper to extend 5G reach
Vodafone (VOD) has announced plans to collaborate with Amazon’s Project Kuiper, a low Earth orbit satellite constellation, to expand its 4G and 5G telecom networks in Europe and Africa.
They will use Project Kuiper’s high-bandwidth, low-latency satellites to connect remote mobile base stations to Vodafone’s core networks, reducing the reliance on traditional fiber-based or fixed wireless links.
Amazon is set to test two prototype satellites soon and aims to deploy production satellites by 2024 to compete with other satellite internet providers like Starlink and OneWeb. Vodafone and Amazon intend to bring high-speed broadband services to underserved communities worldwide and offer services to businesses as well.
Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior vice president, believes this partnership will enhance connectivity in various sectors, including residential broadband, agriculture, education, healthcare, transportation, and financial services. Vodafone’s CEO, Margherita Della Valle, highlighted that this collaboration complements their work with AST SpaceMobile to develop a space-based mobile network that connects directly with standard mobile phones, eliminating the need for specialised equipment.
VOD Daily Candle Chart
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