French defence electronics company Thales reported first-half sales of €4.573 billion today that were little changed from a year ago.
Gains in the company's defence division offset a drop in its information technology and services (IT&S) business
The sales total was broadly in line with expectations, but Thales shares outperformed the market thanks to a second-quarter improvement in its aerospace division and strong underlying growth in IT&S.
This morning Thales stock was up 0.6 per cent at €27.1, outperforming a slightly negative French CAC-40 index.
The first-half sales total of €4.573 billion compared with revenues of €4.557 billion in the same period last year. On a like-for-like basis, sales rose 3.3 per cent year on year.
Revenue at the company's defence division, which contributes over 60 per cent of total sales, climbed 3.4 per cent to €2.86 billion.
In the aerospace division, revenue edged down 1.3 per cent, but improved significantly in the second quarter, with all three aerospace businesses - avionics, simulation and training, and air traffic management - all showing quarter-on-quarter gains.
In IT&S sales fell 8.4 per cent, but the drop was mainly due to asset disposals. On a like-for-like basis, revenues in the division rose 7.5 per cent.
Thales said the disposal of units Thales Geosolutions and Thales Nixdorf had resulted in a €136 million drop on overall revenue. Exchange rate fluctuations had little impact on the figures, adding €6 million.