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Military deals will boost 2015 orders: Airbus Helicopters

The division of Airbus Group
forecast helicopter deliveries would remain stable in 2015 after
falling 5.2 percent to 471 last year. Orders should exceed deliveries
after annual net sales fell to 402 helicopters from 422 in 2013.

Whilst total deliveries fell last year, they included a record 101
heavyweight helicopters — 53 NH90s and 48 Super Pumas — Airbus
Helicopters said.

These generate revenue for the company of 30-40 million euros,
compared with an average 1.5 million ($1.7 million) for light
helicopters, as they typically include additional weapons and logistics
systems, division head Guillaume Faury said.

The year "2015 should be a period of stabilization across our industry," Airbus Helicopters in a statement.

The company hopes to win tenders with its NH90 model for 70 military
transport helicopters for Poland, 24 for Kuwait and 22 for Qatar. Faury
said he also had his eye on a possible deal for 32 attack helicopters
for Poland.

Civil products represented 52 percent of consolidated turnover last
year, while military sales accounted for 48 percent, Airbus Helicopters
said.

Faury said the civil helicopter market would remain under pressure
over the short-term as a result of the plunge in the price of crude,
which has prompted oil exploration companies to tighten costs and push
back projects.

Oil prices have dropped nearly 60 percent since peaking in June 2014
on ample global supplies from the U.S. shale oil boom and a decision by
the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to keep its production quotas unchanged.

Oil companies account for 15 percent of Airbus Helicopters' revenue,
Faury said. While some deliveries had been postponed, there had been no
cancellations so far, he said, adding that helicopters were still in
demand as exploration shifts to zones that are harder to access.