Shares in Spain's Gamesa group plummet after US September 11 attack

The worldwide aeronautical crisis following September 11 saw the share value of Spain's Gamesa group plummet from around EUR 26 at the beginning of August to EUR 14.09 on October 11. Chief Executive Officer Iñaki López Gandaseguí sees the drop as "unfair" given that aeronautics represents only a part of Gamesa's activity. Wind power makes up 63% of corporate turnover -- 45% from wind turbine manufacturing and the rest from wind plant development and operation. Gandaseguí has declared that wind will "compensate for the drop in aeronautics" and he is sticking firmly to a growth forecast of 30% for Gamesa's wind activities by the end of 2002. Gamesa plans to lay off 500 people from its aeronautical division after cancellation of 166 out of 283 aircraft component orders for 2002. Share prices have pulled out of their nosedive, however, rising from EUR 11.05 on September 21 -- an all time low -- to around EUR 15 last month. From the time of its flotation in November 2000 right up to the international crisis, Gamesa share value had more than doubled, reaching a highpoint of EUR 28.3 in January. August had already brought about a slight down turn, with shares hovering round the EUR 25 mark before falling to around EUR 22 by the beginning of September.