OREANDA-NEWS. March 1, 2011. The State Aviation Service of Ukraine (SASU) and the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), the certification authorities in Ukraine and the CIS region, have granted Type Certification to the AN-158, a 99-seat modification of the AN-148 regional jet,  Antonov, the state owned aircraft construction concern, reported on Feb 28.

Millennium Capital considers the news is POSITIVE for the company. Although the current production of AN-148/158 is unsatisfactory, we note that the Type certificate opens the way to commercial operations in the CIS region, strengthening AN-158 competiveness with its Russian peer SSJ-100. Moreover, its certification will stimulate firm contracts within the framework of the AN-148/158 Program. Motor Sich has a firm contract for powering first fifty AN-148/158 jets implying ~USD  300mn in revenues. In a separate event, Oleksandr Kiva, the CEO of Antonov, announced that Kazakhstan is interested in assembling AN-140. He indicated that Antonov and a non-disclosed Kazakhstan company signed a letter of intent to create an aircraft assembly plant in Shymkent (Kazakhstan). We will look forward to further development of the AN-140 Program, namely, the creation of a JV between Antonov and the Kazakhstan company. Taking into account technical and economic characteristics of the AN-140, the aircraft is one of the most appropriate one for low-cost airlines focusing on ranges of 1,500 – 2,000 km and operating with undeveloped airport conditions, which are typical for the northern regions of Russia and Kazakhstan. Experts estimate the market capacity for AN-140 in Kazakhstan close to 90 aircrafts that may bring extra ~USD  340mn to the Motor Sich top line.