(AOF) – Thales Alenia Space, a joint company between Thales (67%) and Leonardo (33%), has signed a contract with Ball Aerospace, industrial prime contractor, for the supply of communication equipment intended for the NEO mission NASA surveyor. The main objective of this 5-year mission is to strengthen the planet’s defenses against near-Earthers, in particular asteroids and comets located within a radius of 50 million kilometers of Earth’s orbit.
NEO Surveyor involves the deployment of an infrared space telescope whose objective is to detect and characterize at least two thirds of near-Earth vessels with a diameter greater than 140 meters, likely to inflict significant damage in the event of impact with Earth .
Thales Alenia Space will supply S-band transponders, K-band modulators and K-band traveling wave tube amplifiers (TWTA) for the NEO Surveyor satellite.
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Key points
– First or second in electronics for civil satellites, mission systems and sensors for defense, air traffic management, data protection and SIM cards and smart payments, created in 2020;
– Revenues of €17 billion from defense & security for 54%, aerospace for 28%, digital identity and security for 19% and civil aeronautics for 7%;
– International presence, 24% for France, 29% for other European countries, 14% in Asia, 12% in North America and 9% in the Middle East;
– Business model based on 4 pillars: the strength of R&D, at 20% of sales, synergies between businesses drawn from deep market knowledge, an extensive base of digital assets and a global presence in +50 countries ;
– Capital locked by 2 joint shareholders, Dassault Aviation (24.63%) and the French State (25.68%), Patrice Caine being Chairman and CEO of the 16-member board of directors;
-Healthy financial situation with debt rated A-, significantly reduced to €894 billion at the end of June compared to €7.6 billion in equity.
Challenges
– Strategy to refocus on aerospace, defense & security and digital identity & security;
– Innovation strategy supported by R&D close to 20%:
– global ecosystem bringing together 1/3 of the workforce, with a portfolio of more than 23,000 patents, 6 hubs, 3 digital factories and 50 academic partnerships;
– focus on 5 digital expertise: connectivity, bid data, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, via the AI@Centech program and the TrUE AI quantum approach;
– Low carbon environmental strategy:
– 25% reduction in direct CO2 emissions in 2023, 50% in 2030 (vs 2018) and net zero objective in 2040,
– 100% of eco-designed products and services in 2023,
– launches of green loans,
– 4 priority areas: environmental management, flight optimization, air traffic management, training and signaling;
– Acceleration of activities, obtaining of contracts and investments in defense and security (2/3 of estimated profits) and aerospace (15%);
– Acquisitions of Excellium and S21sec (security division) and AAC (sonars);
– Visibility with a record order book swollen by the entry into force of Rafale sales in the United Arab Emirates and, more generally, by Defense & Security needs.
Challenges
– Tensions in supply chains, in particular of semiconductors and inflation: resilience of supply chains, increased recruitment and transfer of purchasing costs to customers;
– Spin-offs from advances in avionics and biometrics with the resumption of air traffic and then R&D investments in quantum sensors, cloud security and IoT data processing;
– Rate of aerospace orders lower than that of the group;
– After a 41% jump in order intake and 9.6% in revenue at the end of September 2022, 2022 objectives confirmed: turnover up close to 5.5% and operating margin of 10.8 to 11, 1%.
– 2022 interim dividend of €0.70 paid in December and share buybacks.
The end of a duopoly?
For several decades, the American Boeing and the European Airbus have shared 99% of the world market for airliners with more than 110 seats. This market is worth more than 100 billion dollars per year. However, this duopoly appears weakened in 2022 for several reasons. First, for the first time, two medium-haul single-aisle aircraft, the C919 from China’s Comac and the MC-21 from Russia’s Irkut, are preparing to enter service. Added to this is the Boeing 737 MAX crisis. With the cessation of deliveries of this aircraft between 2019 and 2021, the production balance has been disrupted. In 2021 Boeing posted 340 deliveries, with Airbus remaining well in the lead, with 611.