China "stable" buyer of civil helicopters as global purchase outlook drops: Honeywell report

WASHINGTON, March 4 (Xinhua) -- U.S. aerospace manufacturer Honeywell said on Monday that the overall purchase plans of civil helicopters over the next five years were lower due to the weaker economic outlook, while China stayed as a stable buyer in the industry.

Honeywell's latest forecast showed that 4,000 new civilian-use helicopters would be delivered from 2019 to 2023, down by 200 in number from the five-year forecast in 2018.

"Despite positive impacts of U.S. tax reform on new helicopter purchase plans in North America, an inconsistent economic outlook for international markets has resulted in lower purchase plans worldwide from fleet managers when compared with a year ago," said Heath Patrick, president for Americas Aftermarket of Honeywell Aerospace.

According to Honeywell's report, 18 percent of the respondents in North America said they would either replace or expand their fleet over the next five years, a percentage more than in other regional markets. The figure is 15 percent in Europe, 9 percent in Latin America, 15 percent in Middle East and Africa, and 13 percent in Asia-Pacific.

"Despite limited inputs, new helicopter purchase plans were stable in China, showing that about 21 percent of the fleet would be replaced or expanded by a new helicopter over the next five years," said Honeywell.

For the outlook of civilian-use helicopter market, Honeywell expected that new helicopter platforms would support market growth.

"Despite respondents having a slightly less positive view of the global economic outlook in this year's survey compared with 2018, new helicopter platforms will support an expected 3 to 4 percent annual growth rate in overall deliveries," Honeywell said. "The predicted increase in deliveries signals an overall healthy helicopter market poised for moderate growth."

Honeywell is a multinational company that provides aerospace products and services, control technologies for buildings and industry, and performance materials. In 2018, Honeywell ranked 77th in the Fortune 500 List.