Airbus Helicopters reported a drop in orders but modestly higher revenues for the first quarter, the company reported yesterday. The helicopter unit posted new orders for 66 helicopters during the quarter, compared with 104 from the year-ago period. These orders included 20 for Super Puma-family heavies and 16 for the H145 medium twin. Airbus attributed a 5 percent year-over-year gain in quarterly revenues—to $1.13 billion from $1.078 billion from a year ago—to a higher service volume.
During Heli-Expo in March, Airbus Helicopters announced orders for 43 aircraft, including 21 from Texas-based Air Medical Group Holdings for a mix of singles and light twins and 10 for the helicopter manufacturer's new H145D3 variant. Earlier this year, Airbus predicted that its helicopter market would increase between 2 percent and 5 percent annually over the next few years.