Thales Raises Sales Forecast as Military Gains Push Profit
- `Defense budgets are going up,' CFO Bouchiat says on call
- Ebit forecast at EU1.3 billion to EU1.33 billion in 2016
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Thales SA, the maker of missile-guidance systems for Dassault Aviation SA’s Rafale fighter jets, raised its mid-term revenue forecast as orders reached a record and growth in military-equipment deliveries led to a 44 percent surge in profit last year. The shares gained the most in seven months.
Sales excluding the effects of acquisitions or disposals will rise by a mid-single-digit percentage in 2017 and 2018, the French manufacturer said in a statement. That compares with a prediction a year ago of a “moderate increase” in revenue over the medium term. Adjusted net income jumped to 809 million euros ($891 million) in 2015 from 562 million euros a year earlier, while new orders gained 31 percent to 18.9 billion euros, it said.