EADS announces 39% profit slide

European aerospace group EADS, flush with cash, said Wednesday it is in the process of making acquisitions in the United States and elsewhere in the defence, security and other sectors.EADS Chief Financial Officer Hans-Peter Ring said the company was working on using a cash pile of more than 10 billion euros to bolster the group's units other than aircraft manufacturer Airbus.Airbus is EADS' principal business, alongside helicopter manufacturer Eurocopter and defence and security systems builder Cassidian.

Asia-Pacific airlines are expected to purchase some 8,000 new passenger and cargo planes worth 1.2 trillion dollars from 2009 to 2028, Airbus officials said Wednesday.The demand represents one third of predicted global deliveries during the period, and much of it will be for larger aircraft such as the A380 super jumbo, the European manufacturer said in a statement at the Singapore Airshow."To meet this demand, larger aircraft will be needed to ease congestion and do more with less," John Leahy, Airbus' chief operating officer for customers, said in the statement.

The helicopter unit of the European Aeronautic Defence & Space group (EADS) announced Monday that it has entered an agreement to buy all the outstanding shares of Canada's Vector Aerospace Corp."It's the most significant acquisition for EADS since its creation in 2000, and complements Eurocopter's activities very well, developing the unit's services," Chief Executive Louis Gallois said in a telephone interview with Dow Jones Newswires.The deal, at 13 Canadian dollars per share, values the company at 625 million Canadian dollars ($638 million, 460 million euros).

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus parent EA

China will be the biggest single market for the A380 aircraft, Airbus SAS' super jumbo, the European aircraft manufacturer's chief said on Friday.

China will be the biggest single market for the A380 aircraft, Airbus SAS' super jumbo, the European aircraft manufacturer's chief said on Friday.

European aerospace giant EADS said on Tuesday it plunged into the red last year as it put aside big provisions to cover cost over-runs on its A400M military transport project and A380 superjumbo jet.The group posted a 2009 net loss of 763 million euros (1.04 billion dollars) after making a net profit of 1.57 billion euros the previous year.EADS was hit by a 1.8-billion-euro provision for the much-delayed A400M, but the company struck a deal with seven NATO clients on Friday to share the burden of the complex project's unexpected expenses.