After four years of catching up, aeronautics suppliers returned to pre-Covid activity levels in 2024. The annual study by the Banque de France for Gifas confirms a clear improvement, especially among SMEs, despite persistent weaknesses.
It took four years for aerospace suppliers to surpass pre-Covid industrial and financial levels. This is the main lesson from the latest annual study carried out by the Banque de France on behalf of the French Aeronautical and Space Industries Group (Gifas), unveiled in mid-November.
“There are always companies in a fragile situation, there are segments more in difficulty than others, but we are collectively in a better situationtells L’Usine Nouvelle Christian Cornille, president of Mécachrome and member of the office of the equipment manufacturers group within Gifas. We can show measured optimism.”
SMEs are doing better
Based on the income statements for the year 2024 of 508 companies, including 58% SMEs and 42% equipment manufacturers (mainly mid-sized companies), the study highlights “a marked improvement in the main indicators”. This is good news, as the subcontractors of major contractors such as Airbus, Safran, Thales and Dassault have been very shaken by the industrial downturn caused by the pandemic. In October 2024, Gifas had, for the first time, communicated certain data from the annual study of the Banque de France to L’Usine Nouvelle. And, in particular, the number of large subcontractors at risk of failure which was, last year, 40, compared to 26 in 2022. This figure revealed that despite growth, not all suppliers were profitable. No question this year of providing details on the number of companies in this situation. “We do not want to point the finger at this or that actor. What’s important is that things get better.”insists Alain Dulac, CEO of Factem and vice-president of the Gifas aero-SME committee.
First element of satisfaction within Gifas: the turnover of subcontractors between 2023 and 2024 is increasing sharply, particularly for SMEs (+11%) and equipment manufacturers (+8%). Suppliers are taking full advantage of increases in production rates from Airbus, but also from other segments, such as defense, helicopters and business aviation. They must also produce parts for all after-sales activities. At the same time, the workforce also jumped in 2024, surpassing those of 2019. The levels are 9% higher for SMEs and 5% for equipment manufacturers. Across the sector, there are 222,000 people working in the aeronautics, defense and space sectors, compared to 202,000 in 2019.
With this increase in activity, more and more subcontractors seem to be taking the path to profitability. “The share of beneficiary companies reaches 83% for SMEs and 74% for equipment manufacturers”reports Gifas, which does not however provide the data from the previous edition for comparison. Profitability thus increases “in almost all segments” : in 2024, its level has become higher than that of the pre-Covid period, as has that of gross operating margins (+8% for SMEs and +10% for equipment manufacturers) and net results of companies (+2 points for SMEs). However, throughout the results of the study, a disparity in the return to form between SMEs and equipment manufacturers appears. While the former have been largely supported by the sector, the latter are for some positioned in unprofitable segments such as aerostructures.
