Need for pilots fuels record demand for simulators: CAE CEO

Iva Poshnjari, BNN Bloomberg

Aircraft simulator CAE Inc. posted annual double-digit growth in its latest quarter on the back of immense demand for pilot training, the company’s CEO said.  

The heightened demand for travel, alongside an expected expansion in military contracts, are among the key driving forces of growth behind CAE, Marc Parent, president and chief executive officer at CAE, told BNN Bloomberg in a TV interview Thursday. 

“We are the number one trainer of pilots in the world and there’s a huge demand for pilots out there in all of our segments,” he said.

The company’s fourth-quarter results display this growth through a 30 per cent rise in revenue year-over-year at $1.26 billion, up from $955 million from Q4 in 2022. 

“We just printed another record year of order intake at $5 billion, which leads into a record backlog,” Parent added.

He explained that any analyst concerns over the company’s slower-than-expected margin recovery in defence contracts will be addressed in the latter half of this year as new contracts are due to come in.

While this transition is taking place, Parent attested to the presence CAE has gained within the U.S. military market.

“We train all 43,000 airmen of the U.S. military – all branches. That’s just the United States alone, obviously the largest defence market in the world. That’s just testimony,” he added.

He also pointed to the company’s growth throughout the U.S. market at large.

“Four out of five major airlines in the United States now train with us. That’s versus zero before the pandemic,” he said.

“All our markets are growing and we have strong position within them.”