As the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues to disrupt the global aviation industry, German giant MTU Aero Engines, parent company of MTU Maintenance, has revealed some of the measures implemented to negate some of its effects.
“As it stands today, MTU, along with other companies, plans to secure its financial situation using the means offered by the authorities such as reduced working hours or targeted investment programs,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday (Mar. 17).
Across the business, MTU says it has introduced measures to ensure that operations continue across its worldwide locations. This includes some of its global workforce, which numbers more than 10,000 people, working remotely—a process it says has so far been carried out smoothly.
For its MRO business, which runs engine shops in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, MTU says all facilities remain operational for the time being. During the initial outbreak of the coronavirus in early 2020, its MTU Maintenance Zhuhai shop continued to operate with a small team to deliver the most urgent engines and support customers in aircraft-on-ground and zero spare situations before resuming full operations in mid-February.
The company has also revealed plans to bring forward the net profit for fiscal year 2019 to a new account and suspend last year’s dividend for the foreseeable future. The change in decision follows MTU proposing to raise the 2019 dividend by a fifth to € 3.4 ($3.73) per share in mid-February. It said that the current circumstances meant it wasn’t possible to make an accurate prognosis regarding its financial and economic development for the current fiscal year.
Despite the large-scale impact on the aviation industry, MTU remains positive about its mid- to long-term prospects. “All previous crises have shown that the need for mobility will return. At present, no one can accurately predict how long this will take. After the current downturn, we believe the aviation industry will grow again, and our business base with it,” it said.
