Dubai: France’s Dassault is expecting to close 2015 with fewer business jet orders booked than last year; however, military revenue will be up on the back of sales of the Rafale fighter jets to Egypt and Qatar this year.
Weak market sentiment in the Middle East, China and South America is driving down sales of Dassault business jets this year while military spending in the Middle East has picked up over the past 18 months with conflict in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya.
“They take a little bit longer to decide [now],” Oliver Villa, Dassault Aviation’s senior vice president for Civil Aircraft, told Gulf News at the Dubai Airshow this week.
Villa did not say how many business jets Dassault will sell this year but said its likely to be less than a year ago.
Dassault is “not too worried” in the Middle East, though it is concerned the Chinese market, which has more of an impact on sales than any other region for the French company.
“Everybody expected that after the change of administration, China would have rebound but we still expecting it,” Villa said, adding that it could be up to another year until the market bounces back.
Brazil, where the economy is expected to contract 3 per cent his year has also been “terribly slow,” a traditionally strong market for Dassault’s Falcon 2000 business jet.
“We’re anxious to see it [the Brazilian market] back,” Villa said.
But Dassault is bullish on North America and northern Europe for business jet sales and revenue from military-related sales will be strong than in previous years, Villa said.
“It makes us financially strong,” he said.
