Bombardier increases Q2 revenue due to ‘sustained demand’ for business jets
Some of Bombardier's $222 million in free cash flow from the quarter will go toward completion of an assembly line for its series of long-range Global private jets.
Despite supply chain snarls, Bombardier boosted its second-quarter revenues amid ongoing demand for business jets as deliveries and aftermarket services ramped up, said CEO Eric Martel.
“Our team successfully navigated a highly dynamic business environment that saw sustained demand for new and pre-owned jets, as well as steady service growth, all while supply chain pressure persisted,” Martel said in a statement on Aug. 3.
In the quarter ended June 30, the plane maker boosted revenue by eight per cent year over year on the back of 29 jet deliveries and a big leap in income from repairs and parts replacement for some of the 5,000-odd Bombardier planes that ply the skies globally.
The number of shipments allowed Bombardier to maintain a “line of sight” toward reaching its 2023 forecast of at least 138 jet deliveries by the end of the year, Martel told analysts on a conference call.
Nonetheless, its net income turned up a loss of $35 million, due in part to “professional fees” related to the sale of Bombardier’s rail business in January 2021, the company stated.
Still, the Montreal-based outfit increased its backlog by $100 million from the previous quarter to $14.9 billion and touted a book-to-bill — the ratio of orders received to deliveries billed, a key indicator of near-term demand — of 1.1.
Some of Bombardier’s $222 million in free cash flow from the quarter will go toward completion of an assembly line for its series of long-range Global private jets at a new manufacturing centre on the edge of Toronto’s Pearson airport.
The 7770,000-square-foot facility marks the culmination of a move from its plant at Downsview Airport, where planes have been built since 1929 — initially by De Havilland.
On Aug. 3, the business jet maker reported that revenues increased to $1.68 billion in the three months ended June 30 from $1.56 billion a year earlier.
Bombardier’s second-quarter loss of $35 million contrasted with a net loss of $129 million the year before.
On an adjusted basis, earnings hit 72 cents per share, far better than the loss of 48 cents per share from a year earlier but slightly below analyst expectations of 74 cents per share, according to financial markets data firm Refinitiv.
