Safran has reported strong momentum in both civil aerospace and defence businesses with first quarter revenue rising 16% to €7,257 million. The manufacturer confirmed its full year 2025 outlook, although this excludes any potential impact of tariffs.
Propulsion revenue was up 16.4% to €3,684 million. Safran confirmed it had delivered 319 LEAP engines during the quarter, which was softer than last year due to production levels remaining low at the start of the year. Demand for spare parts, mainly for CFM56 and high-thrust engines, contributing to a 25.1% increase in aftermarket revenue while services – primarily relating to the LEAP per flight hour contracts – were up by 17%.
CEO Olivier Andriès said: “Safran kicked off the year on a strong note across all businesses, with 17% revenue growth. Our activity benefits from substantial growth in civil aftermarket revenues. While global trade discussions are fluid, Safran is actively working to mitigate the economic impact from tariffs, notably by adapting supply flows and engaging with customers. Actual performance and robust momentum in both the civil aerospace and defense sectors reinforce our strong confidence in achieving our guidance, excluding any potential impact of tariffs, which it would be premature to quantify at this stage.”
Andriès confirmed that the company had been informed that China had granted tariff exemptions on "a certain number of aerospace equipment parts" including engines and landing gear.
Safran’s Equipment & Defense division revenue showed a rise of 10.8%, particularly driven by nacelles, landing systems and avionics. Aftermarket services rose by 13.2% with growth across all activities, notably in landing systems (spare parts for landing gears, wheels and brakes), and avionics.
Original equipment sales grew by 9.1%, supported by higher volumes in nacelles (G700, A320neo), avionics, defense (land systems, propulsion and guidance systems) and space activities (satellite communication systems). Safran said that aircraft Interiors had a solid 13.8% increase, exceeding Q1 2019 sales by 8%.
Currency fluctuations were a concern for the manufacturer that has a hedge book of $54.1 billion as of March 2025 ($54.7 billion in December 2024).
Between January and April 2025, Safran repurchased c. 1.5 million shares and reallocated c. 0.23 million shares, initially purchased for delivery upon conversion of Safran convertible bonds.
Safran reiterated its confidence in its full year outlook of revenue up by 10% and free cash flow of €3-3.2bn but noted that it is working to mitigate the impact of tariffs.
Safran said that it was “actively working to mitigate the economic impact of tariffs”, which it said was premature to assess given the fluctuating situation. “We are engaging with customers, adapting logistics flows, optimizing use of Free Trade Zones, Bonded Warehouses, and applying for duty drawbacks and USMCA exemptions when applicable.