LEE'S SUMMIT, MISSOURI, Feb. 23, 2016 -- The Aircraft Electronics Association released its 2015 year-end Avionics Market Report. 

Total worldwide business and general aviation avionics sales for the year amounted to $2,416,438,987.42, or more than $2.4 billion. The figure represented a 4.4 percent decrease in sales compared to the previous year as reported by the participating companies in 2014.

*-Note that the 2015 year-end totals do not exactly equal the sum of the four quarterly amounts as reported earlier in the year. This variance is the result of seasonally adjusted year-end numbers by some of the participants. In addition, the number of companies that participate in the AEA Avionics Market Report may change on a quarterly and/or annual basis. This may occur due to mergers and acquisitions during the year along with new companies participating in the reporting process. Any comparative analysis of the data should take this variance into consideration.

The dollar amount reported (using net sales price, not manufacturer's suggested retail price) includes: all business and general aviation aircraft electronic sales -- including all component and accessories in cockpit/cabin/software upgrades/portables/certified and noncertified aircraft electronics; all hardware (tip to tail); batteries; and chargeable product upgrades from the participating manufacturers. The amount does not include repairs and overhauls, extended warranty or subscription services. 

Of the more than $2.4 billion in sales in 2015, 50.9 percent came from forward-fit (avionics equipment installed by airframe manufacturers during original production) sales, or more than $1.2 billion. The forward-fit market accounted for 51.4 percent of total sales in 2014 and 54.1 percent of total sales in 2013.

By contrast, the retrofit (avionics equipment installed after original production) market showed an increase in its percentage of total sales for the third straight year. Retrofit sales amounted to 49.1 percent of sales in 2015, while the retrofit market accounted for 48.6 percent of total sales in 2014 and 45.9 percent of total sales in 2013. 

According to the companies that separated their total sales figures between North America (U.S. and Canada) and other international markets, 64.2 percent of the 2015 sales volume occurred in North America (U.S. and Canada), while 35.8 percent took place in other international markets.

"As noted earlier this year, the report showed some softness in sales during the first nine months of 2015, as sales were down 7.5 percent compared to the first nine months of 2014," said AEA President Paula Derks. "However, that trend reversed itself during the fourth quarter, as sales topped $653 million, a 7.2 increase from the $609 million in sales during the last three months of 2014. Despite the positive surge late in the year, our industry reported a 4.4 percent decline in year-over-year sales from 2014. Another interesting note is the fact that total sales are now nearly evenly split between the retrofit and forward-fit markets." 

Below is a review of the year-end totals for the four-year history of the AEA Avionics Market Report. Participating companies began separating total sales into retrofit/forward-fit sales in 2013. 

More information about the AEA Avionics Market Report is available online at www.aea.net/marketreport. 

History and Background Information:
The AEA first introduced its Avionics Market Report March 26, 2013, during the 56th annual AEA International Convention & Trade Show in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Prior to 2012, there never had been an effort to capture the true dollar size of the business and general aviation avionics market. The concept to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report began in April 2012, when the AEA formed an ad hoc committee comprised of representatives of avionics manufacturers to create a tool for strategic planning and examining market share. 

"This report provides valuable information to promote the business and general aviation avionics industry to investors and inform elected officials of its global economic value," Derks said when the report was first introduced.

To ensure confidentiality, the participating manufacturing companies submit their sales figures to an independent third-party firm retained to produce the AEA Avionics Market Report. The companies currently participating in the report include:

• Alto Aviation
• Anodyne Electronics Manufacturing Corp.
• Appareo Systems
• Aspen Avionics
• BendixKing
• Cool City Avionics
• FreeFlight Systems
• Garmin
• Genesys Aerosystems
• Gogo Business Aviation
• Honeywell Business & General Aviation
• Jupiter Avionics
• Latitude Technologies
• L-3 Aviation Products
• Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics
• PS Engineering
• Rockwell Collins
• Sandia Aerospace
• Shadin Avionics
• Trig Avionics
• Universal Avionics Systems Corp. 

All dollar amounts noted are U.S. dollars. The AEA Avionics Market Report should not be considered a predictive indicator of future industry sales activity. The circumstances discussed in the report may not occur in future time periods, and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting the AEA Avionics Market Report and the companies that participate in the report. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Aircraft Electronics Association, along with the participating companies in the AEA Avionics Market Report, undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.