SAFRAN PARIS (Reuters) - The head of French aerospace group Safran (>> SAFRAN) said on Thursday the civil aerospace market remains "very active", painting an upbeat picture of demand despite recent investor fears of a downturn in the industry's business cycle.
Chief Executive Jean-Paul Herteman said the market for aircraft equipment, as well as engines, was holding up "very well" but that defence markets continued to feel pressure from budget cuts.
Deputy CEO and Finance Director Ross McInnes said he was "very comfortable" about reaching the group's profit goals for 2014, thanks in part to a favourable mix in the quality of revenue from the civil aftermarket for engine spares.
Both executives were speaking to journalists after reporting 6.8 percent growth in third-quarter revenue and reaffirming profit targets for the year.
CFM International, a joint venture with General Electric (>> General Electric Company), has seen more resilient demand than it originally expected for current-generation CFM56 engines, which continue to be sold at "good prices and production costs", McInnes said.
Asked to comment on the search for a potential replacement when his mandate as CEO expires in the spring of 2015, Herteman said Safran had hired outside recruitment experts and that the board-managed process was going "very smoothly".
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan)
