The 2023 financial year was marked by major successes for Pilatus. Due to high, unbroken demand, 148 aircraft were delivered despite the ongoing challenges of the operating environment. With total sales of $1.68 billion (1.478 billion Swiss francs), operating income of $273 million (240 million Swiss francs) and new orders worth $1.72 billion (1.513 billion Swiss francs), Pilatus closed the past year with record results.
Compared to 2022, which was already a very successful year, Pilatus achieved a 10 per cent increase in sales and added six per cent to its operating income. The total number of aircraft deliveries is impressive too; all in all, 47 PC-24s and 101 PC-12s were handed over to customers last year.
Highlights of the year were its successful closing of a follow-up deal with the Spanish Air Force for the purchase of another 16 PC-21s. In May, the 2,000th PC-12 was delivered to long-standing customer PlaneSense, and in October Pilatus celebrated the launch of the new PC-24 with its increased payload and range. Alongside these, the OEM also had to contend with turbulence due to ongoing supply chain problems and supply bottlenecks which had a negative impact on production.
Overall, chairman of the board of directors Hansueli Loosli is very positive about the past year: “We invested a lot in 2023, in products, staff, growth, infrastructure and digitalisation, and always with unwavering focus on our customers’ needs.”
CEO Markus Bucher adds: “These impressive results will provide the basis for a promising, successful, sustainable future.”
Pilatus saw an increase not only in terms of sales, but also in the number of its employees. Thanks to significant growth its workforce grew to 2,848 by the end of last year, and terms of employment were brought up to date with substantial improvements regarding salary, vacations and pension provision.
To increase its own production capacity, Pilatus decided early in the year to proceed with a phased takeover of all 230 employees and the machinery of RUAG Aerostructures Schweiz at the site in Emmen. In December, it also acquired the sales and maintenance services of Aero Center Epps, a previously independent sales centre based in Atlanta, Georgia that will ensure first-class support for customers on the east coast of the US.
Besides focusing on opening up new sales markets and ongoing product development, Pilatus will continue to invest in infrastructure through 2024, always with sustainability in mind. In addition to the planned extension of the logistics building, a maintenance hangar currently under construction is particularly noteworthy. With its full-surface photovoltaic system, use of groundwater for cooling, heating and process energy, and construction with Swiss timber, Pilatus continues to reduce its CO2-emissions while making a clear commitment to a strategy of sustainability, and to Switzerland as a business location.