MiG Corp. orders hit $2.8 bln, to grow by $1.5 bln - CEO

Published: Thu Feb 12th, 2009
Source: RIA Novosti

BANGALORE, February 12 (RIA Novosti) - MiG's portfolio of orders is worth over 100 billion rubles ($2.8 billion) and will grow by another 50 billion rubles ($1.5 billion) in the near future, the Russian aircraft maker's head said on Thursday.

Mikhail Pogosyan said new contracts, coupled with support from the state, would help the company significantly reduce its current 44 billion-ruble ($1.25 billion) debt.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the MiG corporation will receive 11 billion rubles ($308 million) in the first quarter of the year as part of a 17.3 billion-ruble ($485 million) state defense contract.

He also said the company had losses of some 11 billion rubles in 2008, and announced that he had signed a resolution allocating a further 15 billion rubles ($417 million) in federal budget funds to the corporation.

Apart from the ongoing financial crisis, the MiG corporation has been hit by Algeria's decision to tear up a $1.28 billion contract to buy 34 MiG-29s, signed in 2006, over the airplanes' "inferior quality." The 15 planes delivered were sent back to Russia.

The corporation also has a substantial debt to suppliers, in particular engine makers and missile manufacturers - reportedly more than $80 million.

Last year, MiG, along with other "strategic" companies, was promised funding through the government's anti-crisis package, specifically firm production orders from the Russian Air Force.
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MiG Corp. orders hit $2.8 bln, to grow by $1.5 bln - CEO

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