Net orders for Dassault Falcons stood at 42 as of December 31, marking the third consecutive year of improved sales for the business jet manufacturer. The French company logged orders for 38 Falcons in 2017 and 21 examples in 2016.
Last yearâs tally, however, is still below the 67 recorded in 2014, but does account for the last Falcon 5X cancellations after that program was canceled in late 2017. Dassault did not provide a breakdown of orders by model.
Deliveries of new Falcons fell by eight aircraft year-over-year last year, to 41 aircraft, but the tally was âconsistent with our deliveriesâ forecast,â Dassault Aviation noted. Backlog inched up slightly, from 52 Falcons at year-end 2017 to 53 last year, though still below the 63 and 91 at the end of 2016 and 2015, respectively.
On the military side, Dassault said deliveries were âas perâ its forecast for shipment of 12 Rafale fighters, up from nine a year earlier, with nine examples for export and three going to France. Orders for 12 Rafales were placed last year following the entry into force of the option exercised by Qatar. The year-end defense backlog includes 101 Rafalesâunchanged from late 2017âwith 73 for export and 28 for France.
Dassault Aviation will present full-year annual results and 2019 deliveries guidance on February 28 in Paris.