Aerospace group EADS 2011 net profit leaps

European aerospace group EADS reported on Thursday a 2011 profit leap beyond expectations, gave an ambitious outlook for this year and warned Germany against "external interference." EADS, which owns the plane maker Airbus and helicopter group Eurocopter, said that its 2011 net profit jumped 87 percent to 1.03 billion euros ($1.35 billion), sending its share price soaring higher in morning trading. The group also issued an ambitious outlook for this year, while chief executive Louis Gallois warned Germany that EADS would continue to be managed "without external interference." He was responding to a letter written last month by the German government's coordinator for aerospace activities urging EADS to readjust industrial and executive activities that have a growing focus in France. "This letter is not appropriate," Gallois said during a press conference at which he also commented on the group's annual results. "This letter is not in accordance with governance of listed companies," the EADS chief executive stressed, adding: "We have to take our decisions without external interference." Unlike France, Germany does not currently own a direct stake in EADS (European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company). The aerospace group, which also has extensive activities in the defence sector, said that sales gained 7.0 percent to 49.1 billion euros and that its operating profit reached 1.8 billion euros, a gain of 34 percent. The group expected to raise that figure to 2.5 billion euros this year, which would represent a further increase of 40 percent, and forecast a 6.0 percent increase in sales. New orders were 58 percent higher in 2011 meanwhile, at 131 billion euros, and raised total EADS orders to 540 billion euros, the equivalent of more than seven years of activity. Shares in the group shot up by 8.66 percent to 29.17 euros in morning exchanges on the Paris stock exchange, while the CAC 40 index was 1.65 percent higher overall. CM-CIC analyst Haralf Liberge-Dondoux commented that the annual results were "clearly above expectations."