Dassault Aviation chairman and CEO Charles Edelstenne is “satisfied” with the business and military aircraft manufacturer’s financial performance for the first half of this year. Conceding that there has been a fall in the highest segment of the business aircraft market, Edelstenne noted that “our rivals have suffered more than Dassault from the downturn.” But Edelstenne is concerned that the “international macro-economic environment” on which civil aircraft production relies is “not conducive” to Dassault’s maintaining its production rates next year.
He expects next year to be “difficult,” with anticipated results slightly down from what is expected for this year. The Dassault executive said that after honoring present customer delivery requirements of Falcon business jets, the group next year will be reducing aircraft deliveries from the current six per month to five. This, Edelstenne explained, could rise or fall “depending on what happens in the market because of the world economic crisis.”
