Pilate recorded one of the best years ever

Aircraft maker Pilatus slightly increased sales and operating profit last year. Notably, sales rose a good 1 percent to CHF 1.35 billion, as Pilatus announced on Thursday. Operating profit increased by 7.6 percent to 226 million Swiss francs.

The company has become more profitable, although the number of full-time employees has increased from 2,300 to almost 2,600. One reason for the growth was the takeover of a service company in the US. Almost 90 percent of employees still work in Switzerland.

Fewer machines delivered

In total, the aircraft manufacturer from Central Switzerland delivered 133 aircraft last year, after 152 the previous year. 120 of the delivered machines were PC-12 (80 units) and PC-24 (40 units) commercial and private jets. The remainder was split between the PC-21 trainer and the PC-6 aircraft. According to the information obtained, America was the most important sales market, followed by Europe and Asia.

Last year, incoming orders fell slightly to CHF 1.63 billion. However, the backlog is 2.40 billion francs and thus clearly higher than the previous year. The company is confident for this year as well. First of all, Hansueli Loosli, Chairman of the Board: “I am very pleased with the annual result and the Pilatus team has done a great job. Our PC-12 NGX and PC-24 were and are definitely bestsellers, our order books are full.»

There is increasing interest from the air force. The outlook for supply chains is more difficult. For example, the challenge in the manufacturing process of the PC-24 lies in increasing the reliability of individual components and systems. (SDA/kae/uro)

Source :Blick