By Tim Hepher

(Reuters) – Airbus urged Europe on Tuesday not to block imports of titanium from Russia, saying sanctions on the strategic metal would damage aerospace while barely hurting Russia’s economy.

Widening the action taken after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine to titanium, used in airplanes and jet engines, would “not be appropriate,” Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said at an annual shareholder meeting.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on Western governments to impose stronger economic sanctions on Russia.

The European Union said on Monday more sanctions were an option and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Saturday Kyiv’s allies would continue to tighten pressure on Moscow.

Russia is the largest producer of titanium, a strategic metal prized for its strength relative to its weight.

The EU has so far avoided banning Russian commodities other than steel and coal, and titanium remains exempt from restrictions on trade with Russia.

“Airbus is applying and will continue to apply the sanctions fully,” a company spokesperson said.

“Sanctions on Russian titanium would hardly harm Russia, because they only account for a small part of export revenues there. But they would massively damage the entire aerospace industry across Europe,” the spokesperson added.

Airbus is accelerating a search for non-Russian supplies in the long term, while its needs are covered in the short and medium term, Faury said.

In March, Airbus said it “is directly sourcing titanium from Russia as well as from other countries” and indirectly acquiring Russian titanium via suppliers.

On Tuesday, it reaffirmed this in answer to a Reuters query but declined to say when it had last received Russian titanium.

OUTLOOK CONFIRMED

Airbus has said it relies on Russia for half its titanium needs, while state-backed VSMPO-AVISMA provided a third of Boeing’s needs under a deal renewed last November. Last month, Boeing said it had suspended buying Russian titanium.

VSMPO-AVISMA is 25%-owned by state defence conglomerate Rostec. It relies on aerospace for three quarters of its sales.

Aerospace officials say Airbus is partly concerned about the reliance on Russia at suppliers like France’s Safran, which uses titanium to make jet engine parts and landing gear.

Safran said in February it had reserves for several months and depended on Russia for less than half its needs. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it shared Airbus’ worries about possible sanctions.

Aerospace is not the only industry wrestling with Russia’s commodity clout. U.S. utilities have lobbied the White House not to ban Russian uranium, Reuters reported last month.

More than 400 companies have withdrawn from Russia since war started on Feb. 24, according to researchers. About 80 have kept a presence, while suspending new investments.

Faury reaffirmed Airbus’ 2022 profit guidance but said it was clear the war in Ukraine was “making it harder as we now have a more challenging risk profile” due to economic risks.

“That being said, we still have three quarters ahead of us and we continue to believe we can achieve it,” he said.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Additional reporting by Josephine Mason, Francesco Guarascio and Amran Abocar; Editing by David Goodman and Jason Neely)

By Eric M. Johnson

SEATTLE -Boeing Co on Tuesday moved orders for 141 of its airplanes into accounting limbo due to the war in Ukraine and international sanctions against Russia, among other contractual issues, meaning it no longer expects the jets to be delivered.

Boeing unveiled the adjustment to its order backlog in monthly orders and deliveries data that also showed it had delivered 41 jets to customers in March.

The monthly deliveries tally included 34 of its cash-cow 737 MAX single-aisle jets, two 767 freighters for FedEx Corp and a 777 freighter for China Airlines.

The 41 March deliveries – nearly double the 22 it delivered in February and up from 29 a year ago – reflect rebounding travel and pandemic-driven cargo demand. Boeing said year-to-date deliveries stood at 95 aircraft.

Deliveries of its 787 Dreamliner remained frozen due to inspections and repairs for production flaws.

In March, Boeing booked orders for 53 planes, while customers canceled orders for 15 jets – including three of its 787s. Net of canceled orders and swapped models, Boeing had 38 orders, it said.

For the first three months of the year, Boeing’s orders rose to 167 from 114, Boeing said. Taking out cases where customers canceled orders or swapped models, orders stood at 145, up from 107, Boeing reported.

After adjustments for deals deemed unlikely to result in actual delivery, net orders year to date dropped to 76 from 179, Boeing said.

Overall, Boeing’s order backlog fell to 4,231 from 4,375.

Boeing said the accounting adjustment included 141 aircraft removed from its backlog for financial and contractual considerations.

Most of the aircraft removed were due to the war in Ukraine, which prompted international sanctions against Russia and ruined Ukraine’s airline industry.

The orders were mainly for Russian carriers and included 138 of Boeing’s best-selling 737 MAX, and more than a dozen 777 and 787 widebody models.

Jet orders could return to the backlog if Boeing’s assessment changes.

Boeing rival Airbus SE said it delivered 142 planes in the first quarter, up more than 13% on the year.

Airbus said it sold a total of 253 jets in the first quarter, or a net total of 83 after cancellations.

Airbus does not publish a figure comparable to Boeing’s accounting adjustment, but industry sources said the European planemaker also has an internal filter for screening out orders that are unlikely to be delivered and does not place them into its production plan.

(Reporting by Eric M. Johnson in Seattle; Editing by David Gregorio)

By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi and Oliver Hirt

ZURICH – Proxy advisers Glass Lewis and ISS have recommended Credit Suisse’s shareholders vote against discharging the bank’s board and management from liability for the 2020 financial year at its annual general meeting on April 29.

Glass Lewis said in a report on Monday that shareholders “could reasonably hold the board and executives accountable for the identified deficiencies in the Company’s risk and control framework that were in place during fiscal year 2020”.

ISS noted in a report on Tuesday that the same issues had entailed “entailed substantial monetary and reputational costs for the company, and by extension its shareholders.”

Shareholders are set to scrutinise the performance of Switzerland’s second-largest bank during 2020 and 2021, when a series of scandals prompted ousters, investigations and losses.

Credit Suisse’s board will leave managers potentially liable for its Greensill-linked funds’ collapse when it asks investors to grant them a discharge for other activities.

The bank racked up a 1.6 billion Swiss franc ($1.7 billion) 2021 loss, partly as a result of a $5.5 billion hit from the implosion of investment fund Archegos.

It was also hit by the collapse of $10 billion in supply chain finance funds linked to insolvent British financier Greensill for which it is still trying to recover funds.

Votes at this year’s AGM will cover two financial years as Credit Suisse withdrew an agenda item from its meeting in 2021 while it investigated the Greensill and Archegos matters.

Both ISS and Glass Lewis recommended shareholders vote in favour of discharging Credit Suisse directors from liability for the 2021 financial year.

While the bank still had “a long way to go to effect a convincing turnaround and materially reduce its exposure to reputational and litigation risk,” it had taken meaningful steps to improve its culture and risk governance, Glass Lewis said.

ISS said a “qualified vote” in favour of management’s performance for 2021 was warranted due to “significant levels of personnel refreshment and remedial measures implemented”.

“Nevertheless, some concern is still raised for 2021 considering the actions of the former board chair during the year,” it added.

Credit Suisse said it took note of the recommendations, adding that Glass Lewis and ISS had recommended shareholders support the board’s positions on all but one proposal.

Shareholder groups have submitted two proposals running counter to the board of directors, asking investors to approve a special audit examining the bank’s actions, and separately to strengthen its climate change strategy.

Glass Lewis and ISS recommended shareholders reject both.

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Michael Shields and Alexander Smith)

(Reuters) – Russian lawmakers proposed to transfer businesses of foreign companies that are leaving Russia to the state development bank VEB, giving the owners of such firms the option to resume their operations in Russia or sell businesses within three months.

Scores of foreign companies have announced temporary shutdowns of stores and factories in Russia or said they were leaving for good since Russia began what it calls “a special military operation” in Ukraine on Feb. 24.

A bill submitted to the lower house of parliament on Tuesday showed that Russian lawmakers proposed appointing VEB or other entities, as per authorities’ and courts’ decisions, as external administration at companies where foreign ownership exceeds 25%.

The external administration could be set at companies playing a critical role in infrastructure or monopoly supplies of certain goods if their decision to leave Russia poses a threat to supply chains or could result in job cuts.

Earlier on Tuesday, telecoms equipment maker Nokia said it was pulling out of the Russian market, going a step further than rival Ericsson, which said on Monday it was indefinitely suspending its business in Russia.

Russian authorities have previously suggested that Russia may nationalise assets held by Western investors who decide to depart.

Last week, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin asked foreign companies to keep their production operating in Russia to save jobs, even if companies decide to leave.

(The story is refiled to fix typo in the last paragraph)

(Reporting by Reuters, Editing by William Maclean)