Latest news with #backlog
Travel Weekly
3 days ago
- Business
- Travel Weekly
Aircraft delivery delays are stunting growth, but there's a silver lining
NEW DELHI, India -- The backlog for commercial airline orders is currently more than 17,000 planes, according to IATA, as aircraft makers continue to fall short of production targets. It's a backlog of 14 years at current production rates. The backlog is constraining industry growth and increasing the age of fleets, officials said during IATA's Annual General Meeting here. The industry's average aircraft age has increased from 13 years in 2015 to 15 years currently. This year, Boeing and Airbus had forecast 1,430 deliveries, according to airline industry data company Cirium, but through the first four months of the year they had delivered just 359 planes. "It's very unpredictable. You order an aircraft today, your guess is as good as mine when you're going to receive it," said Nick Careen, IATA's senior vice president of operations, safety and security. The industry's annual fleet replacement rate is just half of the 5% to 6% that it was in 2020, IATA director general Willie Walsh said. Walsh criticized manufacturers for not making faster progress on supply chain problems that he said could last until the end of the decade. A variety of issues have contributed to supply challenges, including a shortage of skilled labor and titanium sourcing problems, Careen added. A shortage of spare parts and aircraft grounded for inspections of Pratt & Whitney GTF engines have exacerbated the shortfall. IndiGo CEO Peter Elbers, whose airline currently has a narrowbody order book of nearly 1,000 Airbus planes plus 60 widebody orders, said delivery delays and shortfalls are hurting the airline industry. "I would say it's a missed opportunity in terms of addressing the market demand," he said. But not everybody agrees. Steve Saxon, a partner and aviation industry analyst for the consulting firm McKinsey, said delivery delays have been a blessing for airlines, driving up yields and profitability by preventing them from growing too fast. Last year, the airline industry recorded a net profit of $32.4 billion, according to IATA. Walsh, too, acknowledged that the slow delivery pipeline has a silver lining. Last year, airlines filled 84% of their seats, a record. "I didn't think I'd ever see load factors at that level," he said.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Columbus McKinnon Corp (CMCO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Navigating Challenges with ...
Net Sales: $963 million for fiscal 2025, down 4% year over year on a constant currency basis. Fourth Quarter Sales: $246.9 million, down 5% from the prior year on a constant currency basis. Backlog: $322.5 million, a 15% increase versus the prior year. Gross Profit: $79.8 million in the fourth quarter, decreased by $14.5 million year over year. Gross Margin: 32.3% on a GAAP basis; 35.2% on an adjusted basis. Adjusted Operating Income: $24.1 million in the fourth quarter. Adjusted Operating Margin: 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Adjusted EPS: $0.60 for the fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA: $36.1 million in the fourth quarter, with a margin of 14.6%. Free Cash Flow: $29.5 million in the fourth quarter. Debt Repayment: $60 million paid down in fiscal 2025, including $15 million in the fourth quarter. Net Leverage Ratio: 3.1 times on a financial covenant basis. Fiscal 2026 Guidance: Net sales growth flat to slightly up; adjusted EPS growth flat to slightly up. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 3 Warning Sign with CMCO. Release Date: May 28, 2025 For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. Columbus McKinnon Corp (NASDAQ:CMCO) delivered record orders in fiscal '25, with a 4% increase versus the prior year on a constant currency basis. The company saw strong growth in project-related orders, particularly in precision conveyance, which was up 19% year over year. Backlog increased by 15% to $322.5 million, positioning the company well for fiscal '26. Operational execution improved, with a top-tier TRIR of 0.54 and a 10-point improvement in net promoter score in the EMEA region. The pending acquisition of Keto Crosby is expected to scale the business, expand customer capabilities, and accelerate the intelligent motion strategy. Net sales were down 4% year over year on a constant currency basis, reflecting lower volume due to short cycle order softness. Gross profit decreased by $14.5 million due to lower sales volume, mix, and factory closure costs. Tariffs are expected to be a headwind, with a $0.20 to $0.30 impact on adjusted EPS in the first half of fiscal 2026. The company faces macroeconomic uncertainty and volatility related to the evolving US policy landscape. Short cycle orders remain sensitive to channel dynamics, impacted by policy uncertainty and channel consolidation. Q: What is the tariff rate embedded for China and the EU, and how might the Keto Crosby acquisition impact tariff mitigation? A: David Wilson, President and CEO, explained that the tariff rates considered are 145% for China and 10% for the EU. The company is advancing integration planning for Keto Crosby, which could potentially help mitigate tariff impacts quicker or more effectively than currently guided. Q: How has the short cycle order trend been through April and early June, and what is expected for Keto Crosby? A: David Wilson noted that short cycle sales improved in the latter part of Q4, showing a flat year-over-year performance, which was a significant improvement from Q3. While he couldn't comment on Keto Crosby's results, similar activity levels are anticipated. Q: Can you elaborate on the tariff situation and the expected mitigation measures? A: David Wilson stated that the company expects a $40 million tariff headwind, with mitigation through surcharges, pricing, and supply chain management. The guidance assumes flat to slightly up revenue, with potential volume reductions due to price increases. Q: What is driving the strength in precision conveyance orders, and how are margins in this area? A: David Wilson highlighted robust demand in precision conveyance, with a 19% year-over-year order growth. This demand is driven by sectors like battery production, life sciences, and e-commerce, with contributions from Mantra Tech and Dorner businesses. Q: Why was the mix negative to margin despite strong precision conveyance orders? A: David Wilson explained that while orders were strong, sales were down, impacting margins due to lower volume and mix. The company expects improvements in fiscal '26 as volume ramps up, particularly in precision conveyance and North American linear motion businesses. For the complete transcript of the earnings call, please refer to the full earnings call transcript. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBC
26-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
P.E.I. Human Rights Commission says it has cleared over half its case backlog
The P.E.I. Human Rights Commission says it is slowly working through a years-long backlog of complaints, with just over half of the older cases now resolved. Brenda Picard, executive director of the commission, said the backlog consisted of 115 complaints submitted before January 2024. So far, 61 of those have been closed, or about 53 per cent. "In addition, we were able to close almost a quarter of the new files. So files that had come in since January 2024, we closed 18 out of 78 of those files," Picard told CBC's Island Morning. Her remarks followed a recent complaint to OmbudsPEI, with a complainant alleging there were extended delays and a lack of communication from the P.E.I. Human Rights Commission. The case was resolved shortly after the ombudsperson's office was drawn in. The commission having a backlog isn't a new issue. Back in 2022, the P.E.I. Court of Appeal sounded the alarm that delays in handling complaints were eroding public confidence and the system needed to be repaired. That warning came as the court denied an appeal of a commission decision that had taken four years to resolve. Extra resources to tackle backlog Picard said turnaround times for claims will depend on how complex they are, but the commission's goal is to have new files dealt with in two years or less. She noted that the provincial government provided extra funding last year to help reduce the backlog, and the commission is now tackling the issue from two angles. "One is trying to put some extra resources on dealing with the backlog, and the other is to actually look at our complaint process and see, okay, how can we improve this for the future, so we don't just keep regenerating the same problem?" she said. One of the root causes of delays has been staffing and resource constraints. On P.E.I., unlike in many other provinces, the commission's investigators also serve as its lawyers, she said. "That's unusual. In most other jurisdictions, there are investigators, and then the lawyers only get involved after the investigation is done. So that's one of the things that we're actually exploring now in terms of changing some things on our complaint process." This year, the commission has experimented with using some external investigators to boost capacity. It has also created a new internal role: a complaints manager. "She will be doing some investigation, or at least overseeing some of the investigation... taking some of that burden off the lawyers so that they are more able to focus on the decision-making that they need to do, and/or the preparation for other processes that they need to do," said Picard. The commission hopes the new position will help fix another ongoing issue: lack of communication with complainants. "We're going to be developing some timelines in terms of, if nothing's happened on your file, or if something has happened, somebody is going to reach out to you within a particular time. So we're just setting those time parameters and seeing what the capacity is to do that." While Picard said the commission is making progress, she pointed out that the nature of the work makes it challenging for everyone involved. "It's very difficult for the staff, the complainants and the respondents. And in our review of our complaint process, we actually did a jurisdictional scan of other jurisdictions that are either similar in size or similar in process to us, and what we found is that everybody was in the same boat."
Times
22-05-2025
- General
- Times
Covid should be a distant memory but the fallout still infuriates
We are now nearly half a decade on from the first Covid lockdown being lifted, when we were allowed tentatively to go out for a meal, a haircut or church service — as long as you didn't sing. God, it was all so weird. Today is 1,766 days since driving tests were resumed. Understandably there was a backlog and everyone understood that waiting times might increase. According to the AA, at the end of 2019 (pre-Covid) the average wait time for a driving test in London and the southeast was seven weeks. Once lockdown was lifted, it jumped to ten weeks and by summer 2022, after another lockdown, it had crept up to 12 weeks. So, what is it now? Back to normal, right? No,
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
More than 100,000 people are still waiting an asylum decision despite Labour's vow to 'clear the backlog' (and a third are still in hotels) as new data reveals UK's asylum 'hotspots'
More than 100,000 asylum seekers in Britain are still awaiting an initial decision - despite Labour's promise to 'clear the backlog' of cases. Newly-published Home Office figures showed, at the end of March this year, there were 78,745 cases (relating to 109,536 people) awaiting an initial decision. The data also revealed that 58 per cent of cases that were awaiting an initial decision had been doing so for more than six months. And nearly one-third (31 per cent) of total cases had been awaiting an initial decision for more than a year. Ahead of last July's general election, Labour promised to 'turn the page' and 'restore order' to the asylum system so that it 'operates swiftly, firmly and fairly'. Party leader Sir Keir Starmer also vowed to 'end asylum hotels' to save UK taxpayers' billions of pounds. The latest figures showed, at the end of March, nearly one-third (30 per cent) of those in receipt of asylum support - some 32,345 people - were in hotels. The Home Office said this was 15 per cent lower than at the end of 2024, and 42 per cent lower than a peak of 56,042 people in hotel accommodation in September 2023. More than 100,000 asylum seekers in Britain are still awaiting an initial decision - despite Labour's promise to 'clear the backlog' of cases Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. The data also revealed the geographic dispersal of asylum seekers across Britain. The majority of asylum seekers supported by the Home Office were located in England (89 per cent). The North West had 19 per cent of the total supported population (20,416 people), which was slightly more than London (19,960 people). The North East and North West supported the largest number of asylum seekers as a proportion of their overall population (2,758 and 2,686 people per million residents, respectively). Of individual local authorities, Glasgow City was supporting the highest number of asylum seekers (4,152 people). This was followed by Hillingdon (2,946), Birmingham (2,504), Liverpool (2,385) and Hounslow (2,097). The Home Office said the number of asylum cases awaiting an initial decision at the end of March this year was 13 per cent fewer than at the end of December 2024. This was also down 41 per cent from the peak of 134,046 cases in June 2023. But it remains higher than in the period from 2010 to 2018, when the number of cases awaiting a decision grew from around 6,000 to 27,000.
