The company presented brilliant results both in terms of sales of CHF 1,3 billion (19 percent more than in the previous year) and operating profit of CHF 210 million (+35 percent).

Pilatus has thus surpassed 2014, the year with the highest sales to date. Pilatus delivered a total of 152 aircraft last year, and the order backlog at the end of the year was higher than ever before. Because of these pleasing business results, the Swiss group also pays its workforce a bonus of around one and a half months' wages.

“With a lot of commitment and flexibility, we achieved a very good result, of which the whole crew can rightly be proud. Our products and services are in demand like never before. However, our work will remain demanding in order to be able to meet our customer expectations despite disrupted supply chains and as deglobalization progresses," says Group CEO Markus Bucher.

Change and reinforcement in the Board of Directors

Meanwhile, there are important changes on the Board of Directors. So far, this has consisted exclusively of men. Annette Rinck was elected at the General Assembly last Friday. The 57-year-old has more than 20 years of experience in global industrial companies, according to the broadcast. Just a few days ago, she took over the presidency of Leica Microsystems, a manufacturer of microscopes and scientific instruments in Wetzlar, Germany. Dominik Burkart was also re-elected or newly elected to the Board of Directors. He already served as a member of the Board of Directors from 2014 to 2021 and will represent the shareholders on the Board of Directors in the future. Gratian Anda, representative of the industrialist clan Anda-Bührle, who is estimated to own between 40 and 45 percent of Pilatus, was no longer up for election, according to the Luzerner Zeitung.

“Turbulence will continue to challenge us in 2022. Nevertheless, we got off to a good start and are confident about the future. Pilatus has a unique range of products and simply the best products in their respective niches. And we have a good backlog, which gives us a solid foundation. We on the Board of Directors, together with the entire Pilatus workforce, will do everything we can to fly Pilatus into a promising future,” says Hansueli Loosli, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Pilatus.