Figeac Aéro lands new Dassault Rafale contract as revenue hits record €486.8 million (about $526 million)

French aerospace supplier Figeac Aéro has won a new contract tied to Dassault Aviation’s Rafale fighter jet, adding to a string of defense wins as the company posts record annual revenue of €486.8 million (about $526 million) for fiscal year 2025/2026.

Based in Figeac—a town of about 10,000 people in France’s Lot department—Figeac Aéro has been steadily building a bigger role in France’s defense-industrial supply chain. The latest Dassault deal follows another recent selection: Safran Aircraft Engines tapped the company to produce metal parts for the M88 engine that powers the Rafale.

Production for the Safran work will be carried out at the group’s sites in Figeac and Aulnat, near Clermont-Ferrand, with first deliveries expected during fiscal year 2026/2027.

Record revenue: €486.8 million (about $526 million) for FY 2025/2026

Revenue for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2026, totaled €486.8 million (about $526 million), according to La Tribune. That marks the highest level in the group’s history, surpassing the previous record of €447 million (about $483 million) set in 2019/2020, before the pandemic battered global aerospace demand.

Sales rose nearly 16% year over year, with growth topping 24% in the final quarter of the fiscal year.

Simon Derbanne, the company’s head of investor relations, attributed the performance to “a generalized increase in production rates across almost all of the group’s programs and a strong performance in the defense business.”

Source : La Tribune

The company’s order book climbed to €4.8 billion (about $5.2 billion), another record that gives the group unusually strong industrial visibility. Management’s priority now is maintaining output rates to meet delivery deadlines.

M88 engine work and Rafale contract deepen the company’s defense push

The Safran contract for the M88 engine highlights Figeac Aéro’s growing defense footprint. Thomas Girard, deputy chief executive officer, framed the work as part of a long-running relationship with Safran: “We are very happy with the partnership we have developed over many years with Safran Aircraft Engines, on both civil and military engines. The M88 and the Rafale are strategic programs for strengthening European defense capabilities. Figeac Aéro is proud to take an active part by bringing know-how and industrial capacity, particularly in the context of a production rate of five Rafales per month under consideration—almost a doubling compared with current rates.”

That “five aircraft per month” figure remains under review, but it captures the pressure building across France’s supplier base. If Dassault Aviation increases output—especially to meet export demand, including a recently announced Indian contract for 114 Rafales—suppliers such as Figeac Aéro would need to scale up in step. The company says it has been preparing for that ramp for several quarters.

Under its “Pilot 28” strategic plan, Figeac Aéro has secured 19 new contracts since the program launched. The group is targeting annual revenue of €80 million to €100 million (about $86 million to $108 million) in the defense segment alone by March 2028, based on objectives it communicated in February.

The company’s MTI subsidiary, based in Decazeville, is also part of the diversification effort, specializing in hydroelectric equipment and, more recently, nuclear.

Pourquoi le contrat Rafale renforce la filière lotoise

Record de CA pulvérisé

486,8 millions d'euros sur 2025/2026, soit +16 % sur un an et un nouveau point haut historique qui efface le précédent record de 447 millions établi en 2019/2020.

Montée en puissance défense

Deux contrats majeurs cumulés : pièces du moteur M88 pour Safran et nouveau contrat Dassault pour le Rafale, dans un contexte de doublement possible des cadences de production.

Emploi local sous tension

300 à 400 postes supplémentaires attendus à Figeac d'ici 2028 pour tenir les cadences, dans un bassin rural déjà sollicité.

Investissements pour l'après-Maillard

10 millions d'euros prévus sur l'exercice en cours, puis 10 à 15 millions sur le suivant, pour préparer la transition de gouvernance après le départ du PDG fondateur.

Carnet de commandes record

4,8 milliards d'euros de commandes assurent une visibilité industrielle inédite pour le groupe, porté par les marchés civil et défense.

Hiring plan: 300 to 400 new jobs at the Figeac site by 2028

Behind the contracts are staffing needs. Management put it bluntly: “We have very significant hiring objectives. By 2028, we estimate that in Figeac alone we will need 300 to 400 additional positions.” The push would add strain to a rural labor market as the company runs at what it describes as a top-tier factory pace.

The group’s Mexico plant is seeing “strong momentum,” management said, and the North American site is expanding quickly. Figeac Aéro also recently announced a contract to manufacture mid-size aluminum sub-assemblies for Airbus’ A220 jet.

Financially, the company announced an investment plan of €10 million (about $10.8 million) for the current fiscal year, followed by €10 million to €15 million (about $10.8 million to $16.2 million) for the next. The spending is aimed at several strategic initiatives, including steps explicitly designed to prepare the organization to operate without its founder.

Succession questions loom as founder Jean-Claude Maillard steps back

Jean-Claude Maillard, 68, founded Figeac Aéro and remains its CEO. He has acknowledged he is “starting to step back” and is preparing what comes next.

Talks with potential buyers have begun, according to La Dépêche du Midi. With no public timetable announced, governance hangs over a company that has had the same leader since its creation—now with a record €4.8 billion (about $5.2 billion) order book and fresh Rafale-linked work that could make it especially attractive to would-be acquirers.