Russia working to develop new rotorcraft types

Buoyed by strong operating results, Russian Helicop­ters plans to further expand its products line. Up until now the corporation’s success has been mostly based on robust domestic and international demand for the Mil Mi-8/17 family of heavy transport helicopters. Now Russian Helicopters wants to further improve its bestseller and introduce several new models.

The corporation ended 2012 solidly in the black with 9.4 bln rubles (about $300 mln) in profit, or 35.2% up on the previous year. Its revenue stood at 125.7 bln rubles (+21% year-on-year). Revenues from helicopter sales amounted to 99 bln rubles; revenues from services and support stood at 18.4 bln rubles.

Russian Helicopters explains its financial growth by a 10.7% increase in deliveries: 290 airframes of nine different types were delivered last year to customers in 19 countries. The firm backlog had reached 817 helicopters by the end of 2012, worth a total of 359.9 bln rubles. The corporation reported several major orders last year from India, China and Brazil. Its 2013 plan for deliveries is thus completely secured by firm orders.

The Russian manufacturer says its cost of sales amounted to 79.9 bln rubles (+26.3% year on year) last year, and that its operating expenses equalled 30.6 bln rubles (+18,2%). The solid financial indicators are also attributable to the fact that the company’s cash CAPEX decreased to 13 bln rubles (–5.5%). In particular, investment in production facilities dropped by 16.4% to 7.6 bln rubles.