The Snecma Group keeps on resisting to the aerospace crises noted Snecma Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Béchat during his press conference on the first day of the Paris Air Show. The Snecma group preserved its market shares and for some markets even increased them with more than 500 CFM56 engines ordered in the first half of 2003, contracts signed for the Airbus 400M, the Sukhoï RRJ, the Boeing 777 Long Range and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s Dhruv helicopter. Regarding the Ariane 5 ECA’s Vulcain 2 rocket engine, Jean Paul Béchat told the journalists about the technical solutions proposed by the Group.

“Our objective is to keep on resisting in a tough economic climate qualified by several specialists of the sector as the most difficult aerospace cycle ever since World War II” said Jean-Paul Béchat. In 2002, Snecma stood up to this objective, with annual sales of 6,504 million euros and net income excluding minority interests of 106 million euros, and renewed it in 2003 with many contracts signed in the first half of the year. These successes should allow Snecma “to keep up with a three-figure net profit”.

The press conference, the questions and anwers are available below:

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- Read the transcript of questions from the press and answers.

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