Cirrus Aircraft of Duluth made 253 airplane deliveries in 2012, billing customers $138 million, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association said in its annual report.

By comparison, Piper sold 158 units for $149 million, Hawker Beechcraft sold 153 for $1.1 billion and Cessna sold 571 for $1.8 billion.

"Cirrus Aircraft's annual performance was highlighted by a steady quarterly rise in airplane deliveries throughout 2012, capped off by strong year-end sales," Todd Simmons, executive vice president of sales, marketing and customer support, said in a news release. "While we sold essentially the same number of airplanes in 2012 as the previous year, we strengthened the business through efficiency improvements and increased the value per aircraft delivered. We are continuing both these trends in the new year."

Cirrus began 2012 with the introduction of 60/40 FlexSeating, offering five-person capacity across its model line. At mid-year, the company accelerated its Vision SF50 Jet program, and was selected to produce a training fleet for the French Air Force.

“We start 2013 by offering a game-changing 200-pound gross weight increase for SR22 and SR22T - the single most requested improvement from our customers,” Simmons said.

He also announced Cirrus received a perfect score from the Aircraft Certification System Evaluation Program, which evaluates the class of aircraft produced by Cirrus every two years.

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