· Boeing’s brand value cruises close to US$20 billion as commercial aircraft sales grow
· Safran stands out among stable top 10 with 33% brand value increase
· Rockwell Collins sees record growth with M&A-powered brand value doubling
· AviChina is first Chinese brand to ever enter Brand Finance Aerospace & Defence 25 ranking
· Great year for aerospace and defence industry as brand values grow by more than 20% on average
The top aerospace and defence brands benefited from a strong year, with all but one of the top 25 brands recording increases in their brand value, according to a new report by Brand Finance, the world’s leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy. Brands in the sector grew by an average of 22% between 2017 and 2018, much faster than in other industries. The league table has also seen three new entrants, including AviChina (brand value at US$0.9 billion) – the first ever representative of its country to enter the Brand Finance Aerospace & Defence 25 ranking.
Savio D’Souza, Director, Brand Finance, commented:
“This was a great year for aerospace and defence brands with a strong commercial jet market and increased planned defence spending in both the USA and globally. The brands are growing bigger and are building up capacity for expansion, as is the case with UTC taking over Rockwell Collins and with Boeing’s new deal with Embraer. Across the sector, we have seen steady growth, yet the balance of power remains very much the same as few brands in the league table change ranks. Time will show if Chinese competition will be able to challenge incumbent leaders.”
Boeing brand soars
Boeing’s performance (brand value up 22% to US$19.9 billion) cemented the brand at the top of the industry ranking, slightly increasing the lead ahead of Airbus (up 19% to US$11.0 billion).
2017 was a good year for new commercial aircraft sales, with Boeing passing the 1,000-order mark for the 787 Dreamliner and securing a US$15.1 billion 40 aircraft deal with the UAE. Production of the twin-aisle 777x commenced in December last year. A new joint venture with Brazil’s Embraer (up 4% to US$1.0 billion) will further increase Boeing’s passenger jet making capabilities.
Whilst Boeing and Airbus have gone head-to-head in commercial aircraft for a few years, Boeing has traditionally fared better in defence, securing many US Air Force, Navy and NASA contracts. Other American brands, known for their defence services more than Boeing, each posted modest but solid gains, including Lockheed Martin (up 9% to US$8.3 billion), General Dynamics (up 5% to US$4.7 billion), and Northrop Grumman (up 10% to US$4.5 billion).
Safran jumps rungs
French brand Safran (up 33% to US$4.3 billion) enjoyed the biggest brand value growth amongst the top ten brands in the 2018 ranking, coinciding with their announcement of an acquisition of Zodiac Aerospace. The merger, which will create the world’s third-largest aviation supplier, was approved by the European Commission, and is likely to drive increased revenue growth in coming years, leading to a significant increase in their 2018 brand value.
Rockwell Collins sees record growth
Further down the leader board, Rockwell Collins (up 112% to US$1.8 billion) more than doubled its brand value, becoming the industry’s fastest-growing brand of 2018. The brand has had an extremely strong year, with Rockwell Collins’ total revenue rising to a record US$6.8 billion. In addition, it has been increasingly able to extend its brand into new services by an aggressive M&A program, including its acquisition of B/E Aerospace last year. It is now being acquired by United Technologies (up 14% to US$3.4 billion) and the new ownership structure is bound to have an even more transformative impact on the brand.
View the full Brand Finance Aerospace & Defence 25 2018 report here
ENDS
Note to Editors
Every year, leading independent brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance values the world’s biggest brands. The 10 most valuable chemicals brands are included in the Brand Finance Aerospace & Defence 25 league table.
Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. Brand strength is assessed through a balanced scorecard of factors (such as marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance) and used to determine what proportion of a business’s revenue is contributed by the brand.
Additional insights, more information about the methodology, as well as definitions of key terms are available in the Brand Finance Aerospace & Defence 25 2018 report.
Brand Finance helped craft the internationally recognized standard on Brand Valuation – ISO 10668, and the recently approved standard on Brand Evaluation – ISO 20671.
Data compiled for the Brand Finance league tables and reports are provided for the benefit of the media and are not to be used for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
Brand is defined as a marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos, and designs, intended to identify goods, services, or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits.
Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors. Brand Finance evaluates brand strength in a process compliant with ISO 20671, looking at Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and the impact of those on Business Performance. The data used is derived from Brand Finance’s proprietary market research programme and from publicly available sources.
Each brand is assigned a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score out of 100, which feeds into the brand value calculation. Based on the score, each brand is assigned a corresponding Brand Rating up to AAA+ in a format similar to a credit rating.
Brand Finance calculates the values of brands in its rankings using the Royalty Relief approach – a brand valuation method compliant with the industry standards set in ISO 10668. It involves estimating the likely future revenues that are attributable to a brand by calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for its use, to arrive at a ‘brand value’ understood as a net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market.
The steps in this process are as follows:
1 Calculate brand strength using a balanced scorecard of metrics assessing Marketing Investment, Stakeholder Equity, and Business Performance. Brand strength is expressed as a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score on a scale of 0 to 100.
2 Determine royalty range for each industry, reflecting the importance of brand to purchasing decisions. In luxury, the maximum percentage is high, while in extractive industry, where goods are often commoditised, it is lower. This is done by reviewing comparable licensing agreements sourced from Brand Finance’s extensive database.
3 Calculate royalty rate. The BSI score is applied to the royalty range to arrive at a royalty rate. For example, if the royalty range in a sector is 0-5% and a brand has a BSI score of 80 out of 100, then an appropriate royalty rate for the use of this brand in the given sector will be 4%.
4 Determine brand-specific revenues by estimating a proportion of parent company revenues attributable to a brand.
5 Determine forecast revenues using a function of historic revenues, equity analyst forecasts, and economic growth rates.
6 Apply the royalty rate to the forecast revenues to derive brand revenues.
7 Discount post-tax brand revenues to a net present value which equals the brand value.
Brand Finance has produced this study with an independent and unbiased analysis. The values derived and opinions presented in this study are based on publicly available information and certain assumptions that Brand Finance used where such data was deficient or unclear. Brand Finance accepts no responsibility and will not be liable in the event that the publicly available information relied upon is subsequently found to be inaccurate. The opinions and financial analysis expressed in the study are not to be construed as providing investment or business advice. Brand Finance does not intend the study to be relied upon for any reason and excludes all liability to any body, government, or organisation.
The data presented in this study form part of Brand Finance's proprietary database, are provided for the benefit of the media, and are not to be used in part or in full for any commercial or technical purpose without written permission from Brand Finance.
