Despite the crises that affected the aviation industry, Dassault Aviation has published strong results for the year 2022.
The French aircraft manufacturer recorded a net profit of €716 million, up from €605 million the previous year (+18.3%).
“Like 2021, 2022 was a historic year for order intake,” Éric Trappier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Aviation, said in a press release. “As a result, our backlog is the largest in the Group’s history.”
After receiving 49 orders in 2021, the Rafale backlog was boosted in 2022 by a record order for 80 fighter jets placed by the United Arab Emirates for €14 billion. This came along with orders for six additional planes for Greece and the activation of an initial tranche of six Rafales out of the 42 ordered by Indonesia. In addition, the French Air Force ordered up 39 Rafales.
As for civilian aircraft, Dassault recorded 64 orders for Falcon business jets, compared to 51 in 2021 (+25%). Some orders placed by Russian customers were deducted.
Dassault delivered 46 aircraft in 2022, namely 13 Rafale exports, 1 Rafale for France, and 32 Falcon jets. Production and deliveries were impacted by the “persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in Asia, geopolitical crises, shortages of raw materials, inflation, energy supply, social unrest,” according to the manufacturer.
For 2023, Dassault Aviation intends to deliver 15 Rafales and 35 Falcons while expecting less net sales. The manufacturer reiterated its welcome for the development of the FCAS program in 2022.
“The agreement on the development of the demonstrator (detailed specifications) establishes the role of Dassault Aviation as lead architect of the New Generation Fighter (NGF),” Trappier concluded. “This is good news for our engineering department, since the agreement protects our intellectual property.”
