Dassault Beats Falcon Delivery Forecast, Backlog Rises

Dassault Aviation delivered five more Falcons than it forecast last year while backlog grew for the French-made business jets, the latter helped by the introduction of the ultra-long-range Falcon 10X in May. In total, the company handed over 30 Falcons last year–four fewer than it shipped in 2020 and 10 fewer than it did in 2019.

The Paris-headquartered aircraft manufacturer took in 51 net orders for Falcons in 2021, with the backlog now at a four-year high of 55 units. That compares to 15 net orders a year earlier and backlog of 34 Falcons as of Dec. 31, 2020. Falcon backlog was in the low-50s between late 2017 and 2020; it stood at 63 units at year-end 2016.

Meanwhile, deliveries and sales of its Rafale fighter were equally buoyant, with shipments of 25 aircraft, up from 13 a year earlier. Net orders for 49 drove Rafale backlog to 86 units versus 62 at the end of 2020.

Dassault will report its full-year financial results, to include aircraft delivery guidance for 2022, on March 4.