Civil aviation makes up one third of Aerostar''s revenues

Aircraft manufacturer Aerostar Bacau made net profits of 3.88 million RON (1.07 million euros) in the first nine months of the year, an increase of 16% on the same time last year.

The company”s sales, however, witnessed a slight decline in RON following the appreciation of the domestic currency, while increasing by 4% to 18.4 million if calculated in euros.

“The trend followed by the turnover was influenced more than anything by the appreciation of the RON, as well as by the fact that many of the contracts we are now running will be completed in November and December, when we will make our biggest sales. Under the circumstances, we estimate turnover to exceed 1,000bn ROL (over 27 million euros),” stated Doru Damaschin, the financial manager of Aerostar.

The company”s exports accounted for some 30% of turnover, compared with 20% at the same time last year.

The main export market is India, with more than 65% of Aerostar”s total exports.

“Our biggest foreign partner is the Indian Defence Ministry, from which we get the largest volume of orders,” Damaschin explained.

Aerostar has been gradually shifting focus towards civil aviation over the last few years, having obtained a series of permits to manufacture components for civil aircraft.

“We tapped into civil aviation two years ago and have come to derive 30% of our turnover from this field, with the growth registered mainly over the last few months. We expect the civil aviation sector to go up by another 10%,” Damaschin said. “We operate in two directions on this field: aircraft maintenance and the manufacture of structures for civil aircraft,” he specified.

Aerostar”s investments over the last few years precisely targeted the company”s entry onto the civil aviation market. “We made large investments in the company”s computer infrastructure and in obtaining licences for the civil aeronautics industry,” Aerostar”s financial manager stated. andrei.chirileasa@zf.ro