SABCA. Management Report

Transcription

1 2011 Annual report

2 SABCA Management Report Profile of the Group 1 Statutory bodies 2 Chairman s message 3 Message of the Chief Executive Officer 4 1. Principal activities in Business environment and outlook Research and development Human resources Corporate Governance Financial aspects 36 Proposals for resolutions 40 (The detailed annual accounts are inserted hereafter) Annual report SABCA

3 SABCA Profile of the Group Over the last 15 years, the SABCA Group (Société Anonyme Belge de Constructions Aéronautiques and its subsidiary SABCA Limburg) has developed well, now achieving the right balance between its three market segments - aerospace, civil aviation and defence. SABCA is making good use of the synergy and complementarity between these three sectors, not only in its products but also in its engineering and production facilities. The SABCA Group conducts its business at three operating sites located in the three regions of Belgium. The company is involved in Belgian and international programmes either as project supervisor, partner or subcontractor. SABCA s exports represent almost 85% of its turnover. Working in the three main areas, the Group is involved in the study, design and manufacture of structural elements, fitted sub-assemblies and servo systems. As part of its defence support business, it handles the maintenance and modernisation of military aircraft, as well as the production of kits and replacement parts. The Group has always been able to contribute to the realization of special customised products that meet the needs of its customers. With a view to continually improving the aircraft and space launchers in the development of which it is involved, the Group is developing innovative technologies and more efficient manufacturing processes. It also develops facilities for testing and certifying its products and puts a lot of efforts in quality control. The Group also abides by the environmental standards and makes appropriate investments to ensure that this remains the case. Every department complies at all times with the national and international standards required both by civilian and military authorities. The high level of qualification demanded of staff is provided by training programmes organised by the human resources department. The Group is attuned to a globalised marketplace. It works with numerous partners and has gradually built up a network of international relations. Within Belgium, given the nature of its activities and the crucial role played by the authorities, the Group is devoted to operating as an industrial player at both the federal and regional levels. The Group is characterised by its operating flexibility and the efficiency created by working as a team with customers, starting from the design stage and going through to qualification, production, delivery and after-sales service. Controlling the development of costs is one of the Group s ongoing objectives. The Group conducts a policy of investing in and developing technologies in its various areas of excellence, while at the same time using the services of subcontractors in an appropriate manner, notably in response to the customers wishes. Annual report SABCA > 1

4 SABCA STATUTORY BODIES SABCA Board of directors (and the expire date of current term) Chairman Remo Pellichero (2013) Daniel Blondeel Charles Edelstenne Guy Piras Loïk Segalen Chief Executive Officer Daniel Blondeel (2016) Directors Charles Edelstenne, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Dassault Aviation 1 (2016) Guy Piras, Executive Vice-President Industrial Operations, Procurement and Purchasing Dassault Aviation until December 31 th, Benoît Berger, Executive Vice-President Industrial Operations, Procurement and Purchasing Dassault Aviation from January 1 th, (2016) Loïk Segalen, Executive Vice-President, Economic and Social Affairs Dassault Aviation 1 (2014) Sjoerd Vollebregt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fokker Technologies Holding B.V. 2 (2016) Henk Valk, Executive Vice President Fokker Aerostructures B.V. 2 (2016) S.A. Gefor represented by its CEO Jacques de Smet, independent director (2014) S.A. C.G.O. represented by its CEO Philippe Delaunois, independent director (2016) Auditor Mazars Bedrijfsrevisoren-Réviseurs d Entreprises SCRL, represented by Xavier Doyen, Company Auditor SABCA Limburg Sjoerd Vollebregt Jacques de Smet Henk Valk Philippe Delaunois Board of directors (and the expire date of current term) Chairman Remo Pellichero (2013) Chief Executive Officer Daniel Blondeel (2012) 1 Elected on the proposal of the Dassault Group 2 Elected on the proposal of the Stork Group Directors Loïk Segalen, Executive Vice-President, Economic and Social Affairs Dassault Aviation 1 (2015) Ruben J.H. Hutten, Director Finance Fokker Elmo B.V. 2, until March 3 d, 2011 Remco Smit, Chief Financial Officer Fokker Technologies Holding B.V. 2, from March 4 th, 2011 (2016) Commissaire Mazars Bedrijfsrevisoren-Réviseurs d Entreprises SCRL, represented by Lieven ACKE, Company Auditor > 2 Annual report SABCA

5 SABCA Chairman s Message In the course of the 2011 financial year, the company made progress in increasing its productivity to maintain a satisfactory result. The company s continuing high workload bodes well for future turnover. The Group achieved a net result of 9% of turnover, despite a very unsettled operating environment. Remo Pellichero In this context the company will be proposing to the Annual General Meeting to maintain the dividend at its 2010 level, distributing 2.11 million EUR (equivalent to EUR 0.88 per share gross or EUR 0.66 net). Cash flow improved and our backlog, now standing at 407 million EUR, represents more than 3 years of work. Aerospace business held up well in 2011 and orders placed with Arianespace bode well for high production levels in the future. However, the Ariane development programmes are coming to an end and new projects will need to be launched to face up to competition. The ongoing discussions within the European Space Agency and the Member States and the directions they take are crucial for the sector s long-term prospects. The February 2012 success of the Vega launcher has cemented the new niche of excellence developed by SABCA regarding the positioning of the nozzles of rocket engines. In the field of aircraft modernisation, ongoing programmes are keeping our engineering and production facilities very busy. Nevertheless, the budget restrictions affecting many countries throughout the world could have a significant impact on outlook. In the field of civil aviation, order books are now leading to major production increases from which SABCA is set to benefit. The dollar level which worried us in the past improved somewhat at the end of the financial year, though customer pressure on margins remains very strong. In line with new legislation, the remunerations committee was established in Similarly, the Corporate Governance Charter was also completed. Though the Group is coping successfully with the crisis, competition is continuing to grow in all its markets, meaning that SABCA needs to keep improving considerably to maintain the good performance guaranteeing its future. Remo PELLICHERO Annual report SABCA > 3

6 SABCA Message of the Chief Executive Officer SABCA faces new challenges Our company has three business fields: civil aviation, aerospace and defence. In civil aviation, the increases in the production rates of aircraft with more than 100 seats are expected to reach levels unimaginable several years ago. Looking for instance at the work on the Airbus A320, A330 or A380, we can expect major increases in growth rates in Our plants in Brussels and Lummen are well prepared for this, with strict yet voluntary management being applied to personnel, investments and our supply chain. Looking at business aircraft, we hope to see the market recovering in the second half of the year. Though benefiting from the positive impact on our workload in civil aviation, we need to point out that price levels remain very low, despite an unstable U.S. dollar and rising material and staff costs. Finally our engineering offices have also been hard at work on the new structural programmes for the Airbus A350 XWB, for which we are developing the FSS (Flap Support Structures) and the FSF (Flap Support Fairings), as well as on Dassault Aviation s new business plane, the SMS, for which we are responsible for designing and developing part of the rear fuselage. Following the installation of a very large autoclave in 2010, our subsidiary SABCA Limburg in 2011 invested in a new paint booth enabling it to treat even large dimension elements, and in an ultrasonic inspection Daniel Blondeel system, allowing it to strengthen its position in the production of composite horizontal stabilisers. In this context, SABCA Limburg won the contract for the horizontal stabiliser for the Dassault SMS, on top of the ones it already has for the Falcon and the Gulfstream 650. Turning to aerospace, February 2012 saw the successful test flight of the small Vega launcher, representing an important victory for the European space community and in particular for SABCA. The lower cylindrical structure supporting the whole weight of the rocket before lift-off, and the electromechanical guidance system of the nozzle of each engine of the launcher s four stages, operated exactly as designed during the test flight. Vega s SABCA-designed Thrust Vector Control (TVC) consists of the control and thrust electronics, the guidance software and the actuators. Vega opens up a new market for launching small satellites and we can expect to supply these TVCs for two launchers a year to start with. Furthermore, with 5 launches in 2011 Ariane 5 is set to return to an annual rate of 6-7 launches in the coming years. SABCA continues to assert its presence in the everchanging world of aerospace. > 4 Annual report SABCA

7 SABCA The Executive Committee (ComEx). From the left to the right : R. De Dobbeleer, P. De Graef, D. Blondeel, J.M. Lefèvre, M. Humblet However, challenges remain for the Ariane launchers: the adoption of the A5ME programme, discussions on Ariane 6, Arianespace consolidation, continuing productivity improvements against a background of new non-european players entering the market. Turning to defence, we are proud of the great success notched up with the signing of the F16 USAFE maintenance contract against extremely tough international competition. Nevertheless with budget restrictions in force in both Europe and the United States, workload is set to again drop. This remains a worry for the future of our defence operations at our Charleroi plant. We will continue fighting for new export contracts as we have been doing over the last few years. The political context, in particular in North Africa, is of course acting as a dampener on our short-term prospects. On the other hand, A400M production rates are increasing at a significant pace. In the current economic environment, the volatile dollar, inflation, raw material prices are all factors needing to be closely monitored. It is crucial for SABCA to remain within the leading group of companies supplying the prime contractors. To achieve this, there are a number of challenges needing to be met. The willingness of our staff to meet up to these challenges in a positive spirit bolsters our firm conviction that SABCA will continue to be successful in the future. Daniel BLONDEEL Annual report SABCA > 5

8 SABCA 1Principal activities in 2011 Ariane 5. Installation of the equipment in the front skirt (JAV) by SABCA Limburg AEROSPACE Ariane 5 There can be no doubt that 9 years of uninterrupted success make the Ariane 5 launcher the No. 1 launcher for heavy payloads - and SABCA is a significant contributor to this success. A total of 5 Ariane 5 rockets were launched in 2011, putting into orbit the ATV2 (Automated Transfer Vehicle) and 8 geo-stationary telecom satellites. Arianespace has already scheduled 7 lift-offs for In 2011, SABCA continued producing structural elements, including the Rear Skirt (JAR), the Front Skirt (JAV), the Front Cone of the Powder Acceleration Stages, as well as the acceleration rocket frames (ARF) for the ECA s Upper Cryogenic Stage. It also supplied the engine activation groups (GAM), the nozzle activation groups (GAT), the pneumatic snatch off connectors (PCP), and the hydraulic servomotor subsystems (GHSM) for 6 launchers. Installing this equipment in the skirts was carried out by SABCA Limburg, which was responsible for final customer shipment. > 6 Annual report SABCA

9 SABCA Vega Once certification of the test models was obtained, the TVCs (Thrust Vector Controls) for each of the four stages of the first flight prototype (Flight Model 1 - FM1) were upgraded and shipped to the customer in the first half of After having them checked through and tested, the customer shipped them to the launch site in Guyana in autumn With the Flight Readiness Review (FRR) held in October 2011, we entered the final stretch, capped by the successful maiden flight of the prototype of this small European launcher (Vega VV01) on 13 February Following the certification of the TVCs and of the 0/1 inter-stage skirt for the first launch, SABCA has started work on a second set of TVCs and structural elements with the same specifications. The signing of the framework contract for the production of 5 launchers as part of the VERTA (Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment) programme was followed later in the year by concrete orders for the components of these 5 launchers. Annual report SABCA > 7

10 SABCA CIVIL AVIATION 2011 was a record year for our main client Airbus, recording more than 1400 orders for new aircraft and delivering 534, almost 5% more than in the previous year. This increase in aircraft deliveries to airlines is already having an effect on SABCA and SABCA Limburg production and customer shipments. AIRBUS A380 Year-end 2011 saw the Airbus order book containing orders for 253 of these very large airliners from 19 airlines; 67 of the aircraft have already been delivered, including 26 in For its part, SABCA delivered 26 rear lower shells (commonly known as the T-shape) in 2011, 9 more than in 2010, a rise of 50%. October saw SABCA delivering the 100th T-shape for this programme. Shipments to the Airbus plant in Saint-Nazaire reached three a month at the end of the year. The number of modifications taking account of the specific needs of individual airlines (customizations) remains high, regularly necessitating work having to be done at Airbus plants. The development of the 800e ( enhanced ) and the manufacturing engineering work are now nearing completion, with the first plane of this version destined for British Airways. AIRBUS A /600 Given the new regulations favouring the use of twinengine planes, production of this four-engine plane is now stopped. The quantity of aircraft actually delivered represents only a third of the programme s initially forecast volume. As regards the manufacture of pressurised floors at the Brussels plant and of flap track fairings at the Lummen plant, both halted for the last two years, it is now planned to dismantle and store the production equipment. All work within this programme will now focus on after-sales service, with a particular focus on replacement parts. AIRBUS A330/A /300 The twin-engine A330 remains a very popular aircraft and production is expected to continue for many more years. Almost 100 planes of this family were ordered from Airbus in 2011 and the size of the order book promises further increases in workload over the next three years. Deliveries of the fully-equipped tail cones by SABCA s Brussels plant increased by more than 10% against We are now producing 9 cones a month and Airbus has announced an increase to 10 or even 11 cones a month. SABCA Limburg supplies the composite maintenance doors for the same aircraft. > 8 Annual report SABCA

11 SABCA Falcon jet of Dassault Aviation. Assembly of a karman A350 XWB : Cantilever rib for station 2 AIRBUS A318/A319/A320/A321 A new member of this single-aisle family, the A320neo with its alternative engine configuration got off to a great start, already clocking up 1250 firm orders. All in all, a total of 1470 aircraft were added to the already well-filled order book of this family in This has a favourable influence on work at the SABCA Limburg plant in Lummen, which supplies all the composite ribs of the aircraft s vertical stabilizer. For its part, SABCA s Brussels plant continues to supply direct drive valves (DDV) to Messier Bugatti, which in turn builds the equipment into the braking systems of these aircraft. AIRBUS A350 XWB In the face of numerous technical challenges and despite the slip in the programme s schedule, priority is being given to harmonising development, tooling and production work at SABCA, SABCA Limburg and at the subcontractors to meet customer requirements with regard to development and delivery schedules. The flap support beams, designed, manufactured and assembled at SABCA s Brussels plant and destined for the first flight prototype and other ground test prototypes, were shipped to Airbus at Filton and its subcontractor GKN in These will soon be followed by the support levers and other metal components. Production of flap support fairings is also on-going at SABCA Limburg, with first deliveries to the Airbus Bremen plant scheduled for the first half of Annual report SABCA > 9

12 SABCA 2011 saw the negotiation and signing of industrial cooperation contracts, and the progressive implementation of the supply chain. With regard to the A350 XWB-1000 version, we were involved in the initial engineering studies carried out by Airbus. However, the programme s original schedule has been moved back. DASSAULT Aviation In 2011 SABCA was awarded a major development and production contract by Dassault Aviation for its SMS business aircraft. The work won by SABCA consists of designing and producing a rear part of the fuselage, made up of machined, formed and assembled panels. A team from SABCA s engineering office was involved in the development of this assembly, working on-site at Dassault Aviation. For its part, SABCA Limburg has been assigned the work of constructing the horizontal stabiliser (HTP) with integrated stiffeners; the HTP spars are also included in the work. > 10 Annual report SABCA

13 SABCA A10. Maintenance activities in Charleroi Hydraulic testing in SABCA in Charleroi Alpha-Jet during modernisation SABCA continued manufacturing the panels of the F7X rear tank for Dassault Aviation plant in Seclin in These large-sized panels are machined in Brussels. The karman assembly work for the Argenteuil plant was also resumed. In addition, SABCA also delivered the mechanical, electrical, hydraulic and pneumatic equipment for these programmes. SABCA is also responsible for repair and maintenance work on the Alpha-Jet servo controls for French and export needs. An agreement was signed in February with Dassault Equipment. GULFSTREAM 650 On 18 November 2011, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) awarded a provisional certificate of airworthiness for this new business aircraft, with final certification expected in SABCA Limburg is responsible for building the composite structural elements of the horizontal stabiliser. By the end of 2011, elements for 30 aircraft had already been shipped to our customer Fokker Aerostructures, the company responsible for assembling the aircraft s tailplane. Annual report SABCA > 11

14 SABCA F16. Ready for flight tests DEFENCE SABCA in Charleroi The Charleroi plant continued its maintenance and modernisation work on aircraft, helicopters and accessories for both the Belgian and foreign armed forces. The work done for Belgium remained on the same level as The programme for modernising the Alpha-Jets continues, with the modification gaining the certification of the French authorities in the course of Deliveries of standard modification kits continued. Looking at the other Alpha-jet export programme, the modifications were installed in the prototype, with ground tests starting at the end of The volume of F16 export work remained very high, with the painting programme for the Netherlands Air Force being completed and a new Depot maintenance contract for the USAFE ( ) being obtained following an international tender by the U.S. administration. As regards A10 aircraft, the workload remained high. Nevertheless policy changes and budget restrictions are a concern, especially with the announcement that A10 aircraft based in Europe are to be pulled out. The production of 31 F16 MLU (Mid Life Update) kits for Lockheed continues, with 24 kits delivered by the end of An order for a further 10 kits was booked. These are to be supplied from late 2012 onwards. > 12 Annual report SABCA

15 SABCA Electrical wiring in Charleroi Work into the avionic rack of a F16 Various modifications were carried out on the Belgian A109 helicopter fleet. SABCA in Brussels and SABCA Limburg in Lummen In 2011, after all the difficulties experienced in 2010, Airbus Military S.L. finally completed the revision of the contract with OCCAR. 170 aircraft (plus 10 options) have been ordered by OCCAR, with a further four by Malaysia. The flight test programme is now nearing its end. Airworthiness certification is expected before the end of 2012, with the first aircraft set to be delivered to France in The final assembly of this plane has now started in Seville. In 2011 SABCA supplied Airbus with the flap deployment mechanisms for MSN 7 and 8, while SABCA Limburg delivered composite flap fairings for the same aircraft to the Airbus plant in Bremen. Annual report SABCA > 13

16 SABCA Workshop of top skins for horizontal tail planes in SABCA Limburg QUALITY With work having started in 2011, SABCA s Quality Management system is being upgraded to make it compliant with the new version of EN9100 which becomes mandatory as of mid The concepts of risk analysis and customer satisfaction have been completely revised, along with various process indicators. SABCA again successfully passed a PRI-NADCAP audit of its chemical surface treatments in 2011, meaning that it is now re-certified until July At the end of 2011, our SABCA Limburg subsidiary passed its transition audit, receiving its certification for the new version of EN9100 at the beginning of SABCA Limburg was also audited in 2011 by Belgian s aviation authority, and hopes to soon gain Production Organisation Approval (POA) under Regulation EASA PART 21/G. > 14 Annual report SABCA

17 SABCA ENVIRONMENT In 2011, SABCA took the first step towards gaining ISO certification, with the certification agency AFNOR Certification awarding it the first-step FDX certificate ( step-by-step Environmental Management System, level 1 of 3 ). For SABCA customers, this is a guarantee that the company is voluntarily committed to a process that should eventually lead to full ISO certification. INDUSTRIAL INVESTMENT PROJECTS At the Brussels plant, construction of the new building housing surface treatment and painting facilities is now finished, with the equipment installed in the fourth quarter of A 3-month test period with last adjustments to the facilities will be followed by a further 3-month period during which acceptance tests will be done on the various processes. A new painting booth for large-size objects has come into service at SABCA Limburg, allowing a primer coat of paint to be applied to even the largest items. This new equipment will also allow the final coat of paint to be applied to the A350 flap fairings. MOVEMENTS IN THE US DOLLAR EXCHANGE RATE Through its policy for managing exchange rate risks on its current contracts, the company continued to attenuate the effects of the persistent weakness in the US dollar in The company organises its purchases of goods and services in foreign currency in order to restrict any residual exchange risk. However, the level of the US dollar remains a determining factor for the future of the company. ORDERS SABCA orders reached 147 million EUR in 2011, taking the order book to 407 million EUR. This order book includes an amount of 164 million EUR that corresponds to SABCA s contractual participation in firm orders received by its customers and for which confirmation is only given shortly before delivery. Annual report SABCA > 15

18 SABCA 2Business Environment and Outlook AEROSPACE 2012 is set to be a pivotal year for the European launcher industry. Preliminary work on a new upper stage to the Ariane 5 carried out in 2010 and 2011 should enable the Council of Ministers of the countries belonging to the European Space Agency (ESA) to take the decision to go ahead with the development of this new stage. The ministerial conference is scheduled for November 2012, and SABCA, following a tender put out by Astrium-ST, hopes to soon start work on implementing the nozzle servo-controls for the third stage of the A5ME (Ariane 5 Midlife Evolution). The success of the first test flight of the small launcher, Vega, opens the door to its further development. Different avenues are envisaged. SABCA is counting on perfecting the new generation activation systems which it has successfully developed but for which cost reductions are to be studied. Discussions on the future (post-2025) launcher are on the agenda, with the preliminary requirement being to define market needs and design the launcher best responding to these needs. If on top of all this, we add Europe s wish to maintain independent access to space, and the necessity to keep operating costs under control, the ministerial conference at the end of 2012 is set to represent a major step for ESA and its industrial partners. > 16 Annual report SABCA

19 SABCA Beam A350 on the 3D measure bench in Brussels CIVIL AVIATION Given the excellent health of the Airbus programmes and the slight recovery of the market for business aircraft, production rates at both the Brussels and the Lummen plants are set to rise for the next few years. further prototype for mechanical tests in June The pre-series is due to start in September 2013, with series production starting in Talks are currently being conducted with Dassault Aviation aimed at increasing SABCA s scope of responsibility for this new aircraft. At both Brussels and Lummen, the development and production start of the A350 XWB programme is expected to take up a large share of resources in At the same time the sustained delivery rate for the A380 programme is being maintained. Following the development work on the Dassault SMS, pre-production work on the part of the fuselage is due to start in the course of will also see production starting for the first elements, with a first flight prototype ready for delivery in April 2013 and a Moreover, a new 5-year contract transferring activities has been signed with Dassault Equipement, relating to the assembly of various servo-controls for the F900, F2000 and F7X. Tooling is currently underway, with the testbeds and other equipment being manufactured and a dedicated workshop being fitted out. Certification is expected to be obtained in December, allowing the transfer to be finalised before the end of Annual report SABCA > 17

20 SABCA Gulfstream 650. Top skin horizontal tail plane At SABCA Limburg, the upcoming delivery of the first flap supports fairings for the A350 XWB to the Airbus plant in Bremen will quickly be followed by increased production rates. the basis of the unique experience and know-how gained through working with the Belgian armed forces and other users of the plane over the last thirty years, especially in the field of repairing wing surfaces. The current economic upturn and the accompanying increase in demand for certain business aircraft should also see us delivering more composite elements both for the Gulfstream 650 and for Dassault s Falcon jets. Over and above the F16, the modernisation programmes currently running are leveraged when looking for export opportunities. This strong reliance on commercial export success is of major concern for Charleroi, whose workload is expected to decline throughout DEFENCE SABCA in Charleroi The company s aim is to consolidate F16 business on SABCA in Brussels and SABCA Limburg in Lummen After gradually resuming production in 2011, the A400M programme is set to pick up speed in with five deliveries - and to reach a steady rate of up > 18 Annual report SABCA

21 SABCA Automatic tape-layer for composite materials at SABCA Limburg to three deliveries per month in the medium term. Thanks to its dual certification as both a civilian and military plane, the A400M can be expected to gain a good position on export markets, thereby consolidating the backlog for the Airbus Military S.L. QUALITY SABCA Limburg is expected to gain PRI-NADCAP certification in 2012 for the manufacture and inspection of elements made of composite materials. At all its plants, SABCA is looking to complete its analyse of causes of defects with a view to significantly reducing their occurrence. SABCA is set to pass its so-called transition audit in May 2012, giving it certification for the new 2009 version of EN9100. In the field of civil aviation, the Brussels plant should soon be seeing its Production Organisation Approval (POA) under EASA PART 21/G being extended to cover on the one hand the Airbus A350 XWB wing-flap mechanisms and fairings, and on the other hand the servo-controls under the Dassault Aviation contracts. The Charleroi plant will continue in 2012 to implement the prerequisites for gaining Part 145 maintenance organisation approval for civil aviation equipment in the medium term. ENVIRONMENT The second step of the process of introducing an Environmental Management System in line with ISO is now underway. This means that a number of management systems are currently being defined and introduced on the shop floor, such as waste sorting, environmental audits, the management of workplace environmental risks, environmental emergency plans, etc. This work should enable us to complete the second step of ISO certification in 2013, as the second of three steps proposed by the certification agency, AFNOR Certification. Annual report SABCA > 19