DASSAULT AVIATION: First Half-year 2009 Results

• Press Release
• Source: DASSAULT AVIATION
• On 3:13 am EDT, Thursday July 23, 2009

ST. CLOUD, FRANCE--(Marketwire - 07/23/09) - First Half-year 2009 Results

The Board of Directors, which met on July 22, 2009, chaired by Mr Charles EDELSTENNE, approved the financial statements for the first half-year 2009:

CONSOLIDATED RESULTS:

For commercial and competition reasons, the Group has decided not to disclose consolidated half-year 2009 order amounts per product (DEFENSE and FALCON).

Consolidated orders:

Consolidated half-year 2009 orders amount to EUR (1.13) billion, negative figure owing to FALCON order cancellations due to the crisis.

Consolidated sales:

Consolidated half-year 2009 sales amount to EUR 1.38 billion. The export share accounts for 71 %.

Consolidated operating profit:

Consolidated half-year 2009 operating profit is EUR 114 million. It accounts for 8.2 % of consolidated half-year sales.

Consolidated net profit:

Consolidated half-year 2009 net profit (total Group and net attributable Group profit) amounts to EUR 118 million. It accounts for 8.5 % of consolidated half-year sales.

Net consolidated earnings per share:

The net consolidated earnings per share is EUR 11.7 as of June 30, 2009.

PURCHASE OF THALES SHARES HELD BY ALCATEL-LUCENT & GIMD:

In accordance with the agreement signed on December 2008 with ALCATEL- LUCENT, DASSAULT AVIATION purchased on May 19, 2009, the THALES shares held by ALCATEL-LUCENT, after the satisfaction of every condition precedent.

DASSAULT AVIATION has replaced ALCATEL-LUCENT alongside the French State as the principal private industrial shareholder of THALES. The relations between the French State and DASSAULT AVIATION are governed by a shareholders' agreement that is very similar to the one previously binding the French State and ALCATEL-LUCENT.

DASSAULT AVIATION, in accordance with the agreements signed in March 2009, purchased also on May 20, 2009, the THALES shares held by Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault (GIMD).

The "Public Sector" and DASSAULT AVIATION currently together hold a 52% stake in THALES and 62% of exerciseable voting rights, thus guaranteeing for THALES a stable shareholders' base in the long term. The principal THALES shareholders as of June 30, 2009 are as follows:

�
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+
|                   |  % shareholding|  % voting rights|
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+
|  Public Sector    |          26.5 %|           41.7 %|
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+
|  Dassault Aviation|          25.9 %|           20.4 %|
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+
|  Others           |          47.6 %|           37.9 %|
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+
+-------------------+----------------+-----------------+

The purchase of those two blocks of shares, approved by the Board of Directors, enables DASSAULT AVIATION and THALES to strengthen their expertise in systems and high-tech activities.

The strenghtening of the partnership between THALES and DASSAULT AVIATION thus creates a world-class French center of excellence in strategic technologies, aviation and aerospace, defense and security, mirroring entities set up in the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Italy or Sweden around core industrial players.

For DASSAULT AVIATION, this is a long-term industrial investment that should help optimize both companies' activities in order to enhance their respective profitability.

The total purchase price of EUR 1.96 billion (EUR 38 per share) was paid as follows:

- in cash to ALCATEL-LUCENT (EUR 1.57 billion),

- 50 % cash, 50 % credit (25 % to be paid in one year, 25 % in two years) to GIMD (EUR 0.39 billion).

THALES is accounted for under the equity method in DASSAULT AVIATION's consolidated financial statements.

First Half-year 2009

Results (cont'd.)

FINANCIAL STRUCTURE:

The Group uses a specific indicator, "Available cash", which reflects the Group's total liquidities minus borrowings. It covers the following balance sheet headings:

- cash and cash equivalents,

- available-for-sale marketable securities (at market value),

- borrowings.

Consolidated available cash as of June 30, 2009, totaled EUR 1.69 billion, after the purchase of THALES shares (EUR 1.96 billion).

GROUP ACTIVITIES:

First half-year 2009 was marked by:

- the delivery of 26 FALCON and 7 RAFALE,

- the FAA and EASA certification granted to the FALCON 2000LX in April, followed by the first deliveries,

- the pursuit of developments in progress (FALCON 900LX, SMS),

- the 1st global firing of a RAFALE Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) with the DAMOCLES Laser Designation Pod (LDP),

- the inauguration of the RAFALE F2 Simulation Center in Landivisiau.

The financial half-year statements are available at the Dassault Aviation website www.dassault-aviation.com, "Finance" Tab, then "Publications".

This information is provided by HUGIN

 
Contacts :
Vadim Feldzer
+33 1 47 11 44 13
Marie-Alexandrine Munoz
+33 1 47 11 64 23
Dassault Falcon (Teterboro Airport, USA)
Ralph Aceti
+1 201 541 4585
Andrew Ponzoni
+1 201 541 4588