Flight International’s annual Top 100 analysis of the financial performance of the world’s biggest aerospace companies has thrown up few surprises, but the Airbus-Boeing rivalry that tops the chart is, by one measure, hotter than ever.
While Boeing comfortably keeps its number-one slot with 2013 revenue of $86.6 billion – versus Airbus’s $78.6 billion – the two companies are neck-and-neck in their civil aerospace businesses.
According to figures compiled by PwC, Boeing’s 2013 civil sales of $52.98 billion (up 7.8% on 2012) were barely $200 million ahead of Airbus – less than the price of a 787.
This means that their defence businesses separate the rivals. Despite US military spending constraints, Boeing managed to boost its sector sales by 1.8% to $28.2 billion. Airbus’s accounts, on the other hand, show the stinginess of its domestic European military markets, slipping 3.8% to just $13.9 billion.
Energising the defence business has been part of the rationale behind Airbus’s 2013-2014 corporate restructuring, which saw it combine its Astrium space and Cassidian defence divisions into a single unit: Airbus Defence & Space.
But while the move may improve efficiency and technology crossover, Airbus chief executive Tom Enders has also called on European governments – particularly those of France and Germany – to decide whether or not they are prepared to spend enough to maintain an indigenous industrial base capable of supplying their militaries with modern equipment.
Source: FlightGlobal.com
