Deliveries, Backlog Down at Dassault

Dassault Aviation released its financial results for the first half of the year showing a year-over-year decrease in number of Falcon orders and backlog. The manufacturer posted an order intake of €778 million ($854 million) for 22 Falcons, three less than the same period last year, as compared to €610 million ($670 million) in the first half of 2015. This year’s total was tempered by the cancellation of 11 Falcon 5X orders, a result Dassault attributes to developmental delays on the Safran Silvercrest engine, which caused Dassault to postpone initial customer deliveries of the aircraft from late 2017 to early 2020.

The company delivered 15 aircraft in the first half of the year, three fewer than the same period in 2015. It continued its policy of not specifying totals of individual models. As of the end of June, its backlog stood at 87 Falcon Jets, down four units from the end of 2015.

Overall the company’s consolidated operating income for the first half of the year was down year-over-year by nearly $21 million, a deficit it attributed to competitive pressure on Falcon prices and the weak euro exchange rate as well as continuing geopolitical and economic instability. “Our Falcon sales are disappointing and the number of deliveries is a direct consequence of this situation,” the airframer noted, adding it has downgraded its 2016 delivery forecast from 60 Falcon aircraft to 50.