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Article: AUST SHIPBUILDER AUSTAL DOWNGRADED AS IT COMPETES FOR US NAVY JOBS.
- Article from:
- AsiaPulse News
- Article date:
- September 22, 2009
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2009 Asia Pulse Pty Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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PERTH, Sept 22 Asia Pulse - Austal Ltd (ASX:ASB) shares inched lower after its key customer, the US Navy, pitted the Perth-based shipbuilder against multinational aerospace giant Lockheed Martin in a bid to win contracts.
Broker Hartleys downgraded Austal from a `buy' to a `speculative buy' on Tuesday, after which the shares closed three cents lower at A$2.92.
The downgrade was attributed to a recent announcement by the US Navy that it would replace the current tender process for up to three Littoral combat ships (LCS) with a new `request for proposals' from Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics/Austal.
"The award will now be an all or nothing ...