The Thales Board of Directors met on 22 February 2016 to close the financial statements for the 2015 financial year.
The new orders booked in 2015 amounted to a record €18,880 million, representing an increase of 31% compared to 2014 (+28% at constant scope and exchange rates). In all business lines, commercial initiatives launched as part of the Ambition Boost plan have delivered. At 31 December 2015, the consolidated order book totalled €32,292 million, which represents some 2.3 years of sales, strengthening the visibility in terms of activity in the coming years.
Sales amounted to €14,063 million, up 8.4% on a reported basis, and up 4.5% at constant scope and exchange rates (“organic” change). Sales saw a slight upturn in growth on mature markets (organic growth of +0.5%) while emerging markets maintained a high level of growth (organic growth of +16%, after +12% in 2014). As a result, emerging markets represented 28% of 2015 Group sales, compared to 23% in 2013 and 25% in 2014.
For 2015, the Group reported an EBIT of €1,216 million, which represents 8.6% of sales, compared to €985 million (7.6% of sales) in 2014. EBIT was notably driven by a strong performance in the Defence and Security segment. Hence, Thales exceeded all of the financial objectives set for 2015, which were to achieve a low-single digit increase in sales and a level of EBIT between €1,130 million and €1,150 million.
“2015 was an important milestone in the success of our profitable growth strategy,” Patrice Caine, chairman and CEO stated. “We achieved a record order intake and our sales witnessed solid growth after several years of quasi-stability. Profitability increased in line with our medium-term objectives, while we increased our investments in innovation, marketing and talent development.” He added: “These good results strengthen our belief that Thales is now back on track to deliver sustainable growth. We are upgrading our organic sales growth target for the years ahead and confirm our margin target for 2017-2018. Thanks to the efforts of all its employees, Thales is undergoing a profound transformation which will foster profitable and sustainable growth.”
Cash indicators also witnessed a clear upturn, benefiting from the sharp rise in adjusted net income and advance payments received on orders placed during the year. Free operating cash-flow stood at €1,110 million, which represents a twofold increase compared to 2014. At 31 December 2015, net cash was €1,978 million, an increase of almost one billion euros compared to 31 December 2014.