Advanced Aerodynamics & Structures, Inc..

[sdhollen]

Mooney outlook looks positive

http://web.dailytimes.com/story.lasso?-datasource=kerrville&...

By Rosa Lavender The Daily Times Published May 19, 2002

Things are looking up at Mooney Airplane Company despite the fact that stock prices haven’t risen since its change of ownership.

Parts shipping is on the rise, the number of planes to be completed this year has increased by six times and workers once laid off now are back on the job.

President and CEO of Mooney Airplane Company Inc Jack Jansen said Thursday was the best single day for shipping parts since Advanced Aerodynamics and Structures Inc. purchased the local plant earlier this year.

“Our parts business is starting to pick up and things are moving out here,” Jansen said, “and we have 20 more employees coming back to work Monday.”

Mooney Airplane Company Inc. is a subsidiary of Mooney Aerospace Group, the successor to AASI.

Things are going well at the Kerrville plant, said Mooney Aerospace Group president Roy Norris on Friday from his California home. He added that the company expects to deliver its first new airplane in July.

“We have advanced our schedule. Instead of the original three airplanes projected to be completed in 2002, we will produce 20 planes in Kerrville this year,” Norris said.

He said all of the company’s financial issues have been resolved and all payments to Congress Financial are up to date. LH Financial Services Corp in New York has committed to financing the company through mid-2003 when Norris projects the company will become financially self-sufficient.

“LH Financial has 100 percent funded AASI for the past two and a half years,” Norris said. “We are in discussion with another major New York bank that we hope will provide funding for a major new project in the aviation industry.”

Stock prices for the company have remained in the 30 cents-per-share range since mid-March when the San Antonio bankruptcy court approved AASI’s bid to purchase Mooney’s assets.

“We are looking at a change in equity structure that we believe will drive the price of the stock up,” Norris said. “I really think stock prices will rise when Mooney reaches profitability, which we project will happen by mid-2003.”

Norris said he is looking at relocating the West Coast facility to reduce costs and allow for more money to be funneled into the Kerrville operations.

“We have completed the layoff of all our California production workers,” Norris said. “So we don’t need the huge facility we have in Long Beach any longer.”

Norris said the company was paying $170,000 a month in rent on the current facility at the Long Beach Airport.

“All we need is a bunch of offices and a service center at an airport, since all production will be in Kerrville,” Norris said. “We plan to move to another site in California to reduce costs and concentrate money on Kerrville.”

Norris said he has found a facility in Santa Barbara, about 100 miles up the coast from Long Beach, which could provide the needed space for corporate offices, a design center, marketing and a service center.”

Cost of the Santa Barbara Airport facility would be one-third the cost of the present facility, Norris said. He said no final decision had been made yet on the California move.

© 2002 The Daily Times. All rights reserved.