(AOF) – Alstom and the Romanian Railway Authority (ARF) have signed an amendment to their framework contract for the delivery of 17 additional Coradia Stream interregional trains as well as 15 years of associated maintenance services. These trains will be added to the first 20, ordered in March 2022, to create the first fleet of passenger trains delivered by Alstom in Romania.
Designed for the European market, Coradia Stream trains are equipped with the ERTMS (1) level 2 traffic control system and comply with both European standards (EN) and Technical Specifications for Interoperability (TSI) to operate on all the main European power supply systems. These trains will reach a top speed of 160 km/h.
Alstom has been operating in Romania for nearly 30 years and is a market leader in railway signaling and electrification solutions. The company is responsible for the implementation of signaling or electrification solutions on more than 75% of the Rhine-Danube corridor in Romania.
The first CBTC urban signaling solution in the country is being deployed by Alstom on line 5 of the Bucharest metro. The company has also been providing maintenance services for the Bucharest metro fleet for 18 years.
(1) European Rail Traffic Management System
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Key points
– World leader in rail transport, from trams and metros to TGV;
– Activities of €8.8 billion at the end of the 2020-2021 financial year carried out 61% in Europe, 15% in America, 12% in Asia-Pacific and 12% in the rest of the world;
– Offer covering all railway construction trades: rolling stock for 51% of sales, signaling for 18%, systems for 11% and services (maintenance, remote control of vehicles, networks, passengers, etc.) for 20%;
– Business model based on:
– the complementarity of geographical areas between Alstom -France, Italy, Spain, India, South-East Asia, North Africa and Brazil- and Bombardier Transport -United Kingdom, Germany, Scandinavia, China and North America,
– the creation of value ranging from the design and construction of a railway system to maintenance;
– Open capital, 17.48% owned by the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, Chief Executive Officer, chairing the 13-member Board of Directors;
– Solid balance sheet with €9 billion in equity and €5 billion in cash against $5.1 billion in debt.
Challenges
– Alstom in Motion 2024/25 growth strategy:
– annual increase of +5% in revenues, operating margin of 8 to 10% and industrial investments at 2% of revenues,
– distribution to shareholders between 25 and 35% from 2021/22;
– Innovation strategy supported by 3.6% R&D and 9,500 patents with 3 axes:
– full range of green traction, ownership of fuel cell technology and, soon, fully connected transport fleets,
– innovation ecosystems: industrial partnerships with start-ups via the Aster fund, with suppliers via the Alliance program, participation in 30 European programs, including Shift2Rail, and, internally, entrepreneurship with I move you,
– roll-out of the digital suite to 100% of the group;
– Environmental strategy for the decarbonization of the activity:
– integrated into the innovation strategy and aimed at strengthening natural capital – use of renewable electricity, recovery of waste, recycling,
– aiming for a 10% reduction in energy intensity and a 25% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2025 (vs 2019);
– ecocircularity: waste recovered at 98%,
– launch of the 1st green guarantee facility;
– Good visibility, with an order book of €81 billion, supported worldwide by investment plans in rail and green mobility -59 hydrogen trains in 2021.
Challenges
– Execution of synergies from the merger with Bombardier -€400m over 5 years- with free cash flow still negative in 2021-22 but a positive impact on 2023 profit;
– Inflation and shortages of electronic components risking penalizing deliveries;
– Objective of an increase in sales and a gradual increase in the operating margin;
– Dividend of €0.25 for 2020-2021, payable in cash or shares.
Great prospects with green hydrogen for the electricity sector
The French hydrogen plan of 7 billion euros, which has been increased to 9 billion, aims to develop an industrial sector for the production of low-carbon hydrogen. Gimélec, the group of companies in the digital electronics sector in France, has identified strong benefits for manufacturers of electrical equipment. For its members, the economic benefits are estimated at 10 billion euros by 2030, then an additional 20 billion for the period 2030 to 2040, mainly for the sector of manufacturers of digital electronic equipment (from transformers to control systems ). This will lead to massive recruitment, in particular in the areas where hydrogen development efforts will be concentrated, in the Mediterranean and in the Seine Valley.