Decrease In Civilian Orders Offset By Increase In Military
Contracts
Despite the world economic crisis which caused a sharp order
decline in the civil market for light helicopters, Eurocopter met
its business and delivery objectives for 2009 and stabilized its
turnover at the level of its record year, 2008, the company said
Wednesday. It was still a very difficult year for commercial unit
sales, but governmental orders made up the difference, leading to
the second-best result of order intakes in Eurocopter’s
history. The company's Support and Services business was also
strengthened with the signature of a number of significant
contracts.
Deliveries remained stable with 558 new civil and military
helicopters delivered in 2009 and almost matching the peak level of
2008. This figure reinforces Eurocopter’s position as a major
branded business division within EADS, accounting for a
consolidated turnover of $6.5 billion. Order bookings suffered a
decline in terms of units sold, but not in value.
A net total of 344 new aircraft, including 81 Super
Puma/Cougar/EC225 (pictured below)/EC725 family helicopters, were
sold, amounting to $8.2 billion. With around 460 gross orders,
Eurocopter secured its No. 1 market position in the civil and
parapublic market. The company’s total order backlog at the
end of 2009 amounted to a robust 1,300 helicopters or the
equivalent of 15.1 billion Euros, an increase of more than 1
billion Euros compared to the end of 2008.
While governmental markets remain stable despite of budget
constraints, a full recovery of the commercial markets in 2010 is
not evident. The lower order intake for light helicopters in 2009
will lead to lower production rates in 2010, while military
helicopter rates will increase, a situation Eurocopter should be
able to manage with its built-in flexibility.
The breakdown of order bookings is as follows: serial
helicopters 65 percent, or $5.3 billion, support and services 31
percent ($2.5 billion) and development and other activities 4
percent ($282 million). Eurocopter’s bookings for support and
services have grown consistently by an average of 10 to 15 percent
over the past three years.
Regarding the 2009 bookings, military and civil products count
for 70 and 30 percent respectively. The total export rate amounts
to 66 percent.
2009 orders were placed for 344 production helicopters as
follows:
- 8 units of EC120 Colibri
- 103 units of the AS350/355 Ecureuil/Fennec/EC130 family
- 58 units of EC135
- 63 units of EC145 (including 51 UH-72A Lakota)
- 9 units of the Dauphin/Panther/EC155 family
- 81 units of the Super Puma/CougarEC225/EC725 family
- 22 NH90
“Our global industrial footprint and our comprehensive,
innovative product and services portfolio have proven to be an
asset in this difficult economic period," said Eurocopter CEO Lutz
Bertling. "Not all geographic areas and market segments are equally
affected by the crisis. The downturn in the corporate, tourism and
EMS markets which typically acquire smaller helicopters has been
countered by a stable oil and gas market due to new exploration
activities, and by a strong military market. Our decision to focus,
in 2009, on governmental and services orders has proven to be right
and allowed us to increase our backlog by more than 1 billion Euros
($1.4 billion). While the United States and Eastern Europe, for
instance, have been heavily affected by the crisis, Latin America,
Asia and Western Europe kept up relatively well. In 2009, we have
continued to expand our industrial presence in the UK, Japan, the
USA, Australia, Brazil, Singapore and Thailand, while at the same
time investing more resources into Research & Development and
new products. We will be ready for future market requirements when
the economy recovers.”
Eurocopter’s key highlights in 2009 were the roll-out of
the KUH (Korean Utility Helicopter, artists concept above),
developed jointly with Korea Aerospace Industries, on July 31, and
the maiden flight of the EC175, a joint development with Avic of
China, on December 4. Both programs are precisely on schedule and
show great market potential already at this early stage. The Tiger
has been deployed to Afghanistan by the French Armed Forces,
proving unparalleled reliability and serviceability in the
operational theater. NH90 deliveries have continued throughout 2009
with a fleet of 40 helicopters in the tactical transport version
now in service in five countries. The first naval NH90 has been
handed over to the Netherlands.
Deliveries of the UH-72A Lakota (above) for the US Army and
Navy are approaching 100, all of them on time or even ahead of
schedule. An order for a further 51 Lakotas was placed in December.
The deployed Lakota fleet has accumulated over 21,000 flight hours
to date, Eurocopter’s Support and Services section booked
three major orders, one for the retrofit of 26 German Army CH53s
for personnel recovery mission, one for the Life Extension of 28
Royal Air Force Pumas, and one for the retrofit of 34 Brazilian
Army Panthers. The range of Eurocopter’s services has also
been expanded substantially in 2009, with the inauguration of new
simulators at Helisim, HFTS, American Eurocopter and Eurocopter
Deutschland, the installation of 24/7 customer service centers in
Hong Kong and Dallas, a new logistics platform in France, and
guaranteed ad hoc support to all customers.