ATR maintains its heading in 2009 despite adverse economical environment

The turboprop manufacturer achieved new turnover record of US $ 1.4 billion in 2009 (2008: US $ 1.3 billion), and delivered 54 aircraft (2008: 55), thus consolidating delivery rate over 50 aircraft per year. ATR unveiled also orders for 40 new aircraft plus 17 options in 2009 (2008: 42 new aircraft plus 14 options), thus reaching 1,000th aircraft sold since the beginning of the programme. It also confirmed the ATR '-600 series' development programme is on track, with the first flight of an ATR 72-600 successfully achieved in 2009.

"Reaching a new annual turnover record in 2009 is the result of the commitment and the strong efforts done in order to cope with the current adverse global environment", declared Stéphane Mayer, ATR Chief Executive Officer.

"The consolidation of our delivery rate over 50 aircraft a year, which is an historical level for ATR, underlines the ability of our product to keep on interesting both customers and investors".

"We reached last year a major milestone with the launch of the flight test programme of the very first ATR ´-600 series', the newest and most technologically advanced regional aircraft which, as planned, will enter into service in 2011."

He added: "The sale of the 1,000th ATR, achieved in 2009, shows the recognition from all the regional operators that have trusted on ATR all along our programme. Getting closer to our 150 operators and provide them with high-quality support services represents a key point of our strategy. This is why in 2009 we further expanded our support network worldwide, with the opening of a new logistic support center in Kuala Lumpur and we inked five additional global maintenance agreements".

Stéphane Mayer concluded: "2010 will be another difficult year, but despite today's environment, we focus on stabilizing the good results of 2009, in terms of orders, deliveries and turnover. Our growth in the last years is due to long-terms reasons. Even if the current crisis has slightly delayed some initial goals, we are ready to continue our strong progression once the economy will recover".

Status 2009

ATR booked orders for 40 new aircraft (see figure 1) and options for 17 aircraft in 2009. Europe and Asia, each with orders for 16 aircraft, represented 80% of the total order intakes of the year. In addition, 50% of the orders of the year were booked for the newest ATR '-600 series' aircraft (2 ATR 42-600 and 18 ATR 72-600).

Since the beginning of the programme, ATR has sold 1,000 new aircraft (418 ATR 42s and 582 ATR 72s). In the last 5 years, ATR has booked net orders for 316 new aircraft, which represents almost a third of the total orders registered by ATR.

ATR's current portfolio is composed by 150 operators in over 80 countries.

ATR delivered 54 new aircraft in 2009 (see figure 2). As of December 31st 2009, ATR delivered a total of 864 aircraft (409 ATR 42s and 455 ATR 72s).

ATR finished 2009 with a backlog of 136 aircraft, including a total of 59 ATR '-600 series' aircraft. The current backlog represents more than two years of production.

ATR reached a new record in the annual turnover, with US $ 1.4 billion (see figure 3).

In 2009, according to their scheduled development programme, the ATR 72-600 pre-series aircraft started its flight test campaign, while the first ATR 42-600 was powered-on and began its ground tests.

ATR continued in 2009 the reinforcement of its customer support activities and further expanded its presence in Asia with the opening of a new logistic support center in Kuala Lumpur. This new facility enables its operators in the Asia-Pacific region having contracted a Global Maintenance Agreement (GMA) to benefit from increased efficiency and reduced costs. In addition, ATR booked in 2009 new GMAs with 5 operators, covering 41 aircraft. Among these contracts, ATR inked with Spanish carrier Air Nostrum the first GMA for the maintenance of '-600 series' aircraft. Today, 26% of the ATR aircraft in operation -over 200 aircraft- are covered by GMAs.

ATR has a total workforce of 870 employees.

Outlook 2010

ATR plans to consolidate its deliveries over 50 aircraft during 2010, while waiting to get a better overview on the recovery of the economy in order to continue its delivery ramp up. For 2010, ATR points also at the stabilization of its annual turnover, around US $ 1.4 billion. As already done in previous years, ATR will keep on strengthening its activities to assist its clients in order to source the optimal aircraft financing.

According to its development programme, the ATR 72-600 will continue its 150 hours flight test campaign in order to obtain its certification. The ATR 42-600 will start in 2010 its 75 hours flight test campaign, and will benefit from certain tests completed by the ATR 72-600. The production of the first commercial ATR '-600s' will start in 2010, for an entry into service, as planned, in 2011.

In the last five years, turboprops are achieving higher commercial results than jets in the regional market and represented almost 60% of the total orders. The potential for turboprops is high both in growing economies and in regions where turboprops are replacing regional jets or previous turboprop versions. In 2010, ATR focus on consolidating its leading position in the turboprop market, with more than 50% of the total sales.

Concerning the support and services activities, ATR will continue expanding its worldwide support offer in 2010 with the opening of new training facilities, while evaluating further developments of its regional support policy.