RPT-UPDATE 3-Air France-KLM ousts CEO, targets recovery
* Juniac to run French unit, seen as CEO successor* Air France-KLM shares rise on restructuring hopesBy Cyril Altmeyer and Tim HepherPARIS, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Air France-KLM SA ousted
its chief executive on Monday and recalled the chief architects
of the Franco-Dutch merger with a brief to eradicate losses
while preparing for an anointed successor.Europe’s largest airline by revenues, which has fallen
behind peers due to a cocktail of costs, debts and competition,
said after board talks that recovery and the improvement of
performance would be its “top priority.”The group said it postponed plans to reorganise into a full
fledged holding company, with integrated divisions, from the
beginning of 2012 until 2013 and restored its tried-and-tested
old guard to run things in the interim.Jean-Cyril Spinetta will remain chairman and resume his
previous role as chief executive, replacing Pierre-Henri
Gourgeon who resigned from the post he had held since January
2009.Leo Van Wijk, who together with Air France’s Spinetta
masterminded the 2004 merger of French and Dutch carriers from
the KLM side, will be deputy chief executive, the group said.The holding company move is seen as a necessary precursor to
possible future acquisitions.Air France-KLM shares closed up 1.4 percent after rising 6
percent on newspaper leaks about the proposed board decision,
which analysts said would speed up restructuring.Air France-KLM also put in place the man widely seen as most
likely to become chief executive — former defence executive
Alexandre de Juniac, who has been appointed as the head of Air
France, the most troubled and strike-prone part of the group.Juniac was a top aide to former French finance minister
Christine Lagarde until her recent appointment as head of the
International Monetary Fund and previously held senior posts at
Thales SA , the state-controlled French arms group.The 48-year-old industrialist will submit directly to the
board measures to boost the performance of the Air France unit
and follow them up “over time,” the group said in a statement.Air France-KLM set the pace for airline consolidation when
the two flag carriers joined forces in 2004, merging key behind
the scenes functions while keeping separate networks.But it has suffered more severely than much of the industry
recently because of high labour costs, a large debt and from
competition that has especially affected Air France.The group’s shares have fallen almost 53 percent in the past
six months, compared with a 26 percent decline for International
Airlines Group (IAG) and a 35 percent drop at Lufthansa .Although many savings were made, analysts had expressed
concerns about the profitability of Air France-KLM under
Gourgeon, a former military engineer with fighter aircraft
qualifications who failed to keep the airline in the black.Air France-KLM posted an operating loss of 145 million euros
($201 million) in April-June, compared with a profit of 230
million at Lufthansa and a 134 million-euro profit after
exceptional items at IAG, parent of British Airways and Iberia.ELECTION PRESSUREAs the board deliberated Gourgeon’s fate, it received a
warning from one of France’s largest unions. The CFDT stopped
short of an immediate strike threat, but put the new management
on notice it could quickly face turbulence over recent calls for
substantial new savings.Analysts say restructuring could be difficult in the run-up
to next year’s French election, likely to be dominated by jobs.”It looks as though the Spinetta-Juniac duo will be able to
put in place the necessary restructuring measures that Gourgeon
should have carried out years ago,” a Paris-based analyst said,
asking not to be named.”On the other hand, doing this just a few months before
(April-May) presidential elections will be difficult for such a
symbolic company as Air France,” the analyst added.Juniac was said to be restless at the finance ministry and
he was linked to several unsuccessful bids to land top jobs.An ex-Thales colleague described his time in government as
“two years of purgatory while waiting for a place in heaven.”“He has a lot of expertise with international groups. He is
charismatic and knows how to listen to people internally, lead
and explain his strategy,” the former colleague said.Juniac will need those qualities to handle the internal
politics of Air France, whose cabin crews already plan strikes
next weekend, the start of a 10-day break for French school
children.He will also have to grapple with the airline’s safety
record after the 2009 Rio-Paris crash, which investigators
attributed in part to a suspected pilot error. A final report on
the crash, which killed 228 people, is expected next year.
UPDATE 1-Mexico Sept same-store sales up 5.4 pct -ANTAD
MEXICO CITY Oct 12 (Reuters) - Same-store sales for
Mexico’s retailers, those recorded at stores open for at least
12 months, rose in September from a year earlier, retailers’
association ANTAD said on Wednesday.The organization, which includes leading retailers Wal-Mart
de Mexico and Soriana , said
same-store sales rose 5.4 percent.The month of September this year had one more Friday than
last year, the group said, helping to boost takings. Total
sales, including receipts from recently opened stores, were
12.7 percent higher than September a year earlier.Walmex, Mexico’s biggest retailer and an affiliate of
Wal-Mart Stores Inc , earlier this month reported
same-store sales rose 4.2 percent in September from a year ago.
