Guillaume Lecompte-Boinet

In 2018, France’s Thales group performed very well in its defense and security sectors&nbsp;but was a bit less prosperous in aerospace. Total sales amounted to €15.86 billion ($17.97 billion), compared to €15.23 billion in 2017, up 4.1 percent. The organic change (at constant scope and currency) came in at +5.3 percent, thanks to strong growth numbers in defense and security sales, which increased 4.3 percent to €8.02 billion. Many different business units contributed to this gain, including surface radars; optronics; systems for fighter aircraft; systems and services for military ships; military radiocommunications; and cybersecurity, among others.

 


In the aerospace sector, sales totaled €5.78 billion, up 0.6 percent compared to 2017 (+1.4 percent at constant scope and currency). This limited growth reflects the slowdown of the commercial telecom satellite market (Thales’s Alenia space subsidiary), along with a high basis of comparison in in-flight entertainment. The slowdown was partly offset by good momentum in other aeronautical businesses.

 


Order intake last year amounted to €16.03 billion, up 7 percent from that of 2017 (+9 percent at constant scope and currency). Once again, order momentum was particularly strong in the defense and security segments. As of December 31, 2018, the Group’s order book stood at €32.3 billion. In 2018, consolidated EBIT amounted to €1.68 billion, or 10.6 percent of sales, compared to €1.36 billion in 2017. The aerospace segment posted EBIT of €580 million (10.0 percent of sales). The margin in this segment improved slightly, with competitiveness initiatives and lower restructuring costs offsetting the acceleration of R&amp;D expenses.

 


Patrice Caine, chairman and CEO of Thales, said, "Our action plan until 2021 is clear: to support profitable growth in the long term, we will continue to roll out our operational performance initiatives and to strengthen our customer-centric culture while also continuing to step up our investments in innovation."

Thales Reports Mixed 2018 Financial Results

The French industrial group reported strong growth in defense and security, but mediocre aerospace results.

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