MBDA, the European leader and global player in missiles and missile systems, generated €3 billion of revenue in 2011.

The recent years were marked by significant cuts in European budgets but the order book remains robust by amounting to €10.5 billion at year-end.

New orders in 2011 came to € 2.6 billion although a major export contract, expected last year, was not officially awarded until this year. Operational performance remains stable at around 10%.

Antoine Bouvier, Chief Executive Officer of MBDA, said: “2011 was an excellent year for MBDA on an operational level, both for the programs in production and for those in development. We received very positive feedback from the military campaigns in Afghanistan, Libya and the Ivory Coast about MBDA equipment and the support provided for the armed forces. For MBDA, all of these successes go towards confirming the confidence our customers have in us when it comes to the setting up of a single European prime defence contractor. In 2011, the vision of MBDA as a European champion – present in four countries (France, Britain, Italy and Germany) and developing in a fifth (Spain) – was, more than ever, our roadmap.”

Bouvier added: “The latest advance in Franco-British co-operation is rooted in the recognition of the strategic nature of the missile sector and the implementation of long-term objectives shared by industry and the two governments. At a time of strong pressure on defence spending, it is the best way to optimize the use of the available budgets to meet the capability requirements of the armed forces and to strengthen industrial sovereignty capacities. The relevance and merit of these principles extend far beyond the Anglo-French relationship. Our aim is to promote the "complex weapon sector" in each of our home countries, give renewed impetus to the launching of new European programmes and that will reinforce MBDA’s status as the pioneer of the European defence industry.”

“The prospects for MBDA also depend on the development of our strategy as a global player. Our activities outside Europe will extend from the creation of partnerships in strategic countries, like India, UAE and Turkey, to advancing our strategy in the United States, following on from the acquisition in 2011 of a missile design development and live build manufacturing facility.

As the financial crisis continues to weigh on defence budgets in Europe, we are able to respond by continuing to reinforce our integration and our efficiency as the European champion. These strengths also serve to make MBDA a global player with the flexibility and the level of competitiveness to develop export and international co-operation outside Europe,” Bouvier concluded.