Dassault Aviation delivered a record number of Falcon business jets in 2009, but cancellations far outweighed new orders as fractional ownership provider NetJets scrapped 65 post-2014 deliveries.
French manufacturer Dassault delivered 77 Falcon jets in 2009, an increase of five on the 2008 total and a new record. It expects to break that this year, forecasting 80 business jet deliveries by the end of the year.
Annual deliveries of Dassault's Rafale fighter jet held constant at 14 units, while orders rose from eight in 2008 to 60 in 2009, thanks entirely to a French government contract. Dassault is forecasting 11 Rafale deliveries for 2010.
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Falcon orders, meanwhile, fell from a positive total of 115 units in 2008 to a negative one of 163 last year.
The 65 aircraft scheduled for delivery to NetJets after 2014 were cancelled "by mutual agreement" and "will be reordered and delivered depending on the market evolution", says Dassault. NetJets lost $711 million in 2009 and had debts of $1.4 billion at year end.
There will be "no serious recovery" in the business jet market before 2012, Dassault predicts.
Revenue from Falcon deliveries totalled €2.44 billion ($3.34 billion) in 2009, up from €2.31 billion in 2008. However, Dassault Aviation's total revenues fell 8.7% to €3.42 billion as a result of declining sales in both the French and export defence markets. Pre-tax profit dropped by 16.8% to €422 million.
Dassault Aviation's turnover will be "roughly the same" in 2010, although the operating result may show a "small decrease", predicts the manufacturer.
In total, the value of 2009 orders was negative to the tune of €1.32 billion. Combined with 2009 deliveries, this brought a €4.74 billion or 27.8% contraction in the value of Dassault Aviation's orderbook, which at year end totalled €12.32 billion, of which Falcon orders accounted for 62%.
Source: Flight International
