Common Foreign and Security Policy
No sign of anything that could be called a “European defence” on the horizon
The future of Europe’s Defence Industry Interview with Dr Thomas Enders, CEO, EADS, Toulouse The European: Dr Enders, you have been CEO of EADS since 2012. Your company is about to be reorganised under the name of Airbus. What is the reason for this? Tom Enders: Firstly, around 85 percent of our business is aeronautics, roughly 70 percent of our revenues come from Airbus alone; Secondly, more than 90 percent of our backlog comes from Airbus commercial aircraft. Thirdly, 80 percent of our overall sales is commercial, defence represents only about 20 percent of what we do – and it has little chance of increasing as government budgets are flat at best. Finally, we must significantly increase our financial performance to continue investing in growth and innovation and to meet our shareholders’ expectations for returns. From these findings it was only a small step to our main conclusions: we need to integrate and restructure our defence business, which today is scattered over all four Divisions, and the space business. And we need to give the company and its divisions the best brand available in order to succeed on global markets. Only the Airbus brand can do that trick. The European: So the outcome of your strategic review was that you wish to maintain your defence sector in the hope of better times to come, but that for the moment it will have to lean for support on other business units. What would it take for your defence branch to start seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?
The A400M landing on a non-paved runway.
“After decades of talk, there is still no sign of anything that could be called a ‘European defence’ on the horizon” Dr Thomas Enders
Tom Enders: Yes, we want to stay in defence and space. And what we are doing is clear evidence of this. We are creating a new Division with Airbus Defence and Space, which currently generates revenues of 14 billion euros and which employs some 45 000 people. To put it into perspective: we own the largest defence business in Europe. But, clearly, in the current business environment, we cannot sit idle. We’re consolidating in order to reduce costs, increase profitability and have better leverage and competitiveness on the international markets. Our European markets will remain important but we will reduce our dependence on them. The European: I don’t see any new flagship project forthcoming, unless the EU, above and beyond drawing up the theoretical documents, were to provide some real impetus, for example by launching a comprehensive strategic programme for an EU-
photo: © AIRBUS S.A.S. 2013, by exm company / A. DOUMENJOU
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