The Board of Directors of Dassault Aviation, which met Wednesday under the chairmanship of Mr. Éric Trappier, approved the 2017 financial statements. These consolidated statements were certified by the Statutory Auditors who reached a conclusion without reservation.

Éric Trappier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dassault Aviation, said:

“2017 was an intense year for Dassault Aviation, with mainly two highlights: 

• The signing, of an agreement with Qatar to exercise the option for 12 additional Rafale (which will come into force upon receipt of the first down-payment) and of an agreement on a future cooperation (option for another 36 Rafale).
• Initiation of the termination process of the Silvercrest contract leading to the end of the Falcon 5X program. Last October, Safran encountered new problems with the high-pressure compressor and announced they were unable to meet the commitment they took in 2016 (even though the engine was already four years behind contract schedule).

Given the remaining need of customers for an aircraft of this category, we have launched the Falcon 6X, featuring the same cross section as the Falcon 5X, with a range of 5,500 NM and powered by Pratt & Whitney PW812 engines; its entry into service is scheduled in 2022.”

In the military sector, he added, we can point out to the following items:

For the Rafale: 

• The delivery of 8 Rafale to Egypt, bringing up to 14 units Rafale’s fleet in service in this country
• The delivery of 1 Rafale to the French Air Force, bringing up to 149 the number of aircraft delivered, out of the 180 ordered
• The delivery of the 8th Navy Rafale retrofitted to F3 standard to the French Fleet
• The continuation of the development work on the F3-R standard, including the final validation firing of the Meteor missile
• The notification at the end of the year of the risk reduction task for the future F4 standard

For other military aircraft: 

• The ongoing works for the upgrade of the French Mirage 2000D, and the notification of a new 5-year contract to maintain the Mirage 2000 and the AlphaJet in operating condition
• The support of the Mirage 2000 fleets of all countries, including main checks in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar
• The United Arab Emirates’ intention to add new capabilities to their Mirage 2000-9
• Continued renovation of the ATL2 combat system, with integration tests and flight tests
• The order of a 4th SURMAR Falcon (maritime surveillance) by the Japanese Coast Guard

For drones and the preparation of the future: 

• The new nEUROn stealth measures and a new flight test campaign
• The continuing feasibility phase of a UCAS (Unmanned Combat Air System) demonstration program, a component of the Future Combat Air System (FCAS), to prepare a demonstration program
• The continuing definition study for a MALE RPAS reconnaissance drone in cooperation with Airbus Defense & Space and Leonardo, in order to equip 4 European countries

And in the field of business aviation:

• The recovery of the pre-owned aircraft market, but at low prices, in a very competitive new aircraft market environment, despite signs of recovery in North America at the end of the year
• The order of 41 Falcon and the cancellation of 3 Falcon 5X, compared with the 33 Falcon ordered and 12 Falcon 5X canceled in 2016
• The delivery of 49 Falcon, same as in 2016, which is higher than our guidance of 45 deliveries
• The delivery of the 2,500th Falcon
• The ramp-up of the Falcon 8X, a mature aircraft upon its entry into service, highly appreciated by customers for its comfort and silence, and its technical and operational capabilities such as certification of operations at London City Airport, the FalconEye system and 30-knot crosswind takeoff
• The launch of the necessary investments for the future Falcon.

2017 has also been the year of the launch of the first actions of our “Leading Our Future” transformation plan based on 4 defined themes, relying on women and men who form the company, using the “digital” leverage to face the increasingly unpredictable developments in our markets and meet the requirements of our military and civilian customers.

Finally, 2017 was also a key year with the creation of the Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited Joint Venture and the laying of the corner stone of the Nagpur plant to manufacture, from 2018, Falcon 2000 parts and some Rafale subassemblies. The success of offsets in India, in particular with our partners, and of the development of the “Make in India” are essential; the entire company is mobilizing to make them a success.

2017 order intake was EUR 3,157 million, compared with EUR 9,558 million in 2016, the year we recorded India’s order of 36 Rafale aircraft. Export order intake represented 82%.

The backlog as of December 31, 2017 was EUR 18,818 million, compared to EUR 20,323 million as of December 31, 2016.

Net income per share in 2017 stood at EUR 59.3/share, compared with EUR 45.5/share in 2016.

The Available Cash of the Group amounted to EUR 4,121 million as of December 31, 2017 versus EUR 3,105 million as of December 31, 2016, up by EUR 1,016 million mainly due to down payments received under the ongoing Rafale Export contract.