Eurocopter reports record sales in 2012

Eurocopter, the world's leading maker of civil helicopters, reported on Thursday record sales of 6.3 billion euros ($8.4 billion) last year, up 15 percent from 2011. The company, a subsidiary of the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), said it expected to increase deliveries this year by 15 percent. The value of orders taken, for 469 helicopters, was the second-highest figure ever achieved by Eurocopter and marked a return to levels before the financial crisis broke in 2008, company executives told a press conference. Sales rose by 15.0 percent to 6.3 billion euros compared with the previous record of 5.4 billion euros in 2011. Deliveries, which had fallen from year to year since 2008, were expected to rise by 15 percent this year, Eurocopter said. Deliveries of new helicopters accounted for 49 percent of sales in 2012. Activities to support the operation of helicopters, which the company has developed aggressively since the crisis began, grew to 42 percent of the total. In 2012, Eurocopter opened five flight simulators for training pilots and its customers around the world.