Commenting on its figures, French defense electronics company Thomson-CSF SA, in which the state is soon to sell its 58% of the Paris Bourse-listed company, says its return to profit after three years of heavy losses was the result of restructuring measures over several years. The previous three years’ losses were essentially due to falls in the value of the Credit Lyonnais share price – shares in the effectively bankrupt state bank were wished onto Thomson-CSF by the French government. Europe, excluding France, contributed more than $1.7bn in sales for the first time, compared with less than $690m in 1995. The European market accounts for 28% of the consolidated revenue, against only 10% at the end of the 1980s, Thomson said, adding that this was due to its policy of external growth through acquisitions.
