(News Bulletin 247) – The aircraft manufacturer announced that it had delivered four fewer Falcons in 2024 than in its forecasts but one more Rafale. Although below the company’s objectives, these deliveries are in line with market expectations. The stock is progressing, also driven by positive comments from Donald Trump on NATO military spending.

Just before Airbus, which will do so on Thursday evening, Dassault Aviation communicated its deliveries for 2024 on Tuesday, after the market closed.

The aircraft manufacturer present in military aircraft and business jets announced that it had delivered 31 Falcon and 21 Rafale aircraft last year. Dassault Aviation ultimately delivered four fewer Falcons than it planned but one more Rafale.

The aircraft manufacturer therefore generally missed its delivery targets last year. Which, however, is not very surprising. Like all aeronautical groups, Dassault Aviation has once again encountered significant disruptions in its logistics chain.

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Logistical tensions

During the presentation of the company’s half-year results, the CEO, Éric Trappier, mentioned difficulties with aerostructures (fuselage elements, empennage, etc.) and with the supply of “small equipment”.

The market had therefore anticipated the failure in deliveries. Deutsche Bank notes that the figures communicated by Dassault Aviation are generally in line with expectations placed at 32 deliveries for the Falcon and 20 for the Rafale.

“If the supply chain (logistic chain, editor’s note) seems to have stabilized, the weakness of Falcon’s deliveries shows that certain bottlenecks persist. Note, however, that beyond the traditional seasonality, an acceleration is nevertheless visible with 19 deliveries in the second half of 2024 and 9 in the last two months of the year according to Cirium (a firm specializing in aviation data, Editor’s note)”, explains Oddo BHF.

A helping hand from Trump

Deutsche Bank also highlights an improvement, albeit “modest”, in Falcon orders, numbering 26 in 2024 compared to 23 in 2023. “Better performance is necessary to support visibility”, however, warns the German bank.

On the Paris Stock Exchange, Dassault Aviation shares rose 3.7%. Beyond its deliveries, the group can be supported by declarations from Donald Trump. The American president-elect called on Tuesday evening for member countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to devote 5% of their GDP to military spending, compared to a minimum of 2% currently set by the organization. .

According to Stifel analysts cited by Reuters, these comments can explain the rise in the stock market of all defense companies in Europe. In addition to Dassault Aviation, Thales takes 2.9% in Paris. In London, BAE Systems gained 2.6% while in Frankfurt Rheinmetall gained 4.6%.