Regional planemaker ATR targets 100 orders in 2016

PARIS, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Regional turboprop planemaker ATR, a joint venture between Airbus Group (Swiss: AIR.SW - news) and Italy's Finmeccanica (Other OTC: FINMF - news) , said on Thursday that it is targeting more than 90 deliveries and about 100 plane orders this year.

ATR said it delivered 88 planes last year, two short of its target, and received 76 firm orders, below its target of 90, which it blamed on low fuel prices. It (Other OTC: ITGL - news) also said it received 81 options on planes, for a total of 157 orders.

ATR's light propeller planes, which can carry 50 to 90 passengers, consume far less fuel than jet planes, so its sales tend to be high when fuel prices are up. But they tend to be lower when fuel prices are down as that makes them lose a major advantage against competitors.

The company said its 2015 sales rose to $2 billion from $1.8 billion in 2014. Its order book stands at 260 planes, for a total estimated value of about $6.6 billion, down from a record 280 planes in 2014. (Reporting by Cyril Altmeyer; Writing by Geert De Clercq; Editing by James Regan)