Between 1 April and 30 September 2012, Alstom booked a sound level of orders at €12.1 billion, up 19% compared to the first half of last year, driven in particular by a strong semester for Transport. Over the same period, sales were up 4%, amounting to €9.7 billion. Income from operations increased to €703 million, leading to a 7.2% margin or a 50 basis point improvement. The net result stood at €403 million and the free cash flow turned positive at €101 million.

“In a still challenging economic environment, the Group achieved a sound commercial performance during the first half of 2012/13 with orders up 19%, leading to a book-to-bill above 1 for the fourth consecutive semester. Recovery of sales combined with strict cost control and good execution of contracts enabled the operating margin to improve to 7.2%. Free cash flow turned positive at €101 million. Thanks to these good results, we are on track with our three-year guidance: sales should grow over 5% per year for this fiscal year and the two following ones, the operating margin should gradually improve to around 8% in March 2015 and the free cash flow should be positive in each of the three fiscal years”, said Patrick Kron, Alstom’s Chairman & Chief Executive Officer.