Snecma has announced a major cut in its losses for 1996 and expects to return to the black this year, following continued recovery in the aerospace business after restructuring under new president Jean-Paul Béchat.
Only group figures have been released, so that it is difficult to estimate the performance of individual Snecma subsidiaries, including the core engine division. Deliveries of the Snecma/General Electric CFM International CFM56 reached 438 units, however, certainly contributing to the improved overall results. This was boosted by delivery of rocket engines for ten Ariane 4 launchers from subsidiary SEP.
Net losses were cut to Fr280 million ($49 million), which Béchat calls "a notable improvement" over 1995, when the group was Fr853 million in the red. Sales rose by 4%, to Fr18.7 billion, of which 75% was in the civil sector.
Béchat adds that the recent growth in orders should help sales to increase by 20% in 1997, "-which should be continued in 1998". He adds that the restructuring measures, plus the likely delivery of 700 engines this year, "-must lead to significantly more positive results for the current year". He points to a likely profit of Fr500 million.
The group's results have been depressed over the past two years by provisions to pay for restructuring, which amounted to Fr395 million and Fr750 million in 1995.
Béchat has re-organised Snecma into three main divisions: propulsion, which contains the core Snecma and SEP engine businesses; mechanical equipment, which includes the Messier-Bugatti, Hispano-Suiza, Techspace Aero and Messier-Dowty subsidiaries; and Snecma Services, bringing together the various maintenance operations, including Sochata.
Source: Flight International
