After more than thirty years with the group, it will be with a sense of accomplishment that the CEO of Safran will hand over the reins to Philippe Petitcolin and Ross McInnes, on 23rd April.
During the presentation of their annual results on 25th February, Safran announced that last year they had registered an increased turnover of 7% compared to 2013, amounting to in excess of 15 billion euros. A result that the group owes much to the growth of their commercial engine services activity (spare part sales, maintenance, repairs and overhauls), and also the some 4,200 new orders for their CFM56 and Leap engines, which have just begun flight tests.
As for the group's security activities that were down the previous year, they also rose more than 3%, representing a turnover of 1.5 billion euros in 2014.
Jean-Paul Herteman, Chief Executive Officer – Safran Group: "In 2014, we were pleased to record a resumption of large orders for identity security systems, biometrics-based access, border and airport control. Security is back on track for growth, profitability."
In 2014, Safran signed a major multi-biometric border control contract with the United Arab Emirates, and another with the US federal authorities for improved passenger screening at airports.
On the recruitment side, Safran increased its workforce by more than 2,600 people last year, and now has 69,000 employees. The group is expected to continue hiring in 2015, albeit at a slower pace, and foresees an additional 7% to 9% increase in its turnover.