Orders for Dassault Aviation’s Falcon business jets increased by 25% last year while its backlog rose to €4.7bn, according to the company’s full-year accounts for 2022. 

The orders rose from 51 in 2021 to 64 last year, despite cancelled orders for Russian aircraft due to the war in Ukraine. The value of the orders also rose during the year, from €1.9bn in 2021 to €2.1bn.

Deliveries were down slightly on guidance from 35 to 32, but up on 2021’s deliveries of 30. The book-to-bill ratio for Falcon aircraft for the year was 2.

Backlog reached the highest ever level for the OEM, rising to 87 Falcon aircraft with a value of €4.7bn from €3.1bn in 2021, and more than doubling from €2.1bn in 2020.

“The market is active, but sales began to slow toward the end of the year,” said the OEM. “Business aviation traffic in the high-end segment was still higher than in 2019 but began to level off at the end of the year.”

Looking at group-wide performance, Dassault Aviation (which includes ExecuJet MRO companies and Dassault Aviation Business Services) recorded revenue of €35bn for the year. It made €6.9bn in net sales in 2022, with a net income of €830m. Borrowings and debt stood at €234m for the year, with the group’s cash in hand increasing from €4.6bn in 2021 to €9.5bn. Dassault Aviation said this increase was due to advances received for export contracts and the resilience of its Falcon aircraft.

Group objectives for 2023 include obtaining certification for the Falcon 6X and entering it into service and continuing the development of the Falcon 10X. This is in line with what the company previously announced in May last year, when it announced that the first Falcon 6X deliveries would move to mid-2023 rather than the end of 2022 due to covid-related delays.

Another objective for this year is improving the firm’s carbon emissions. The accounts said the Falcon 10X will be “natively 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) compatible as soon as it enters service”. Current Falcon aircraft are certified to fly with a SAF blend up to 50%.

The group’s total backlog, including its defense aircraft, reached €35bn, up from €20.7bn in 2021, while total order intake rose from €12bn to €21bn.

Dassault Aviation 2022 results – at a glance

• Group orders up to €21bn, Falcon orders up to €2.1bn (32 Falcon jets)
• Group backlog €35bn, Falcon backlog €4.7bn (87 Falcon jets)
• Falcon 10X undergoing development, due to enter service in 2023
• Dubai maintenance hub due to open in 2023
• Service centres in Florida and Kuala Lumpur due to open in 2024
• 1,500 staff hired, 24% of these were women