Bombardier swung to a $139 million profit in the second quarter of 2021 and has upped its full-year 2021 earnings estimates amid a bump in deliveries of and demand for new business jets.
The company also attributes its optimism to a strong used-jet market, which typically bodes favourably for sellers of new jets.
“The second quarter was exceptional on all fronts,” Bombardier chief executive Eric Martel says on 5 August. “Q2 can be summarised simply as much better – better revenue, better profitability, better cash generation, better service revenue and perhaps most importantly, better aircraft sales.”
The Montreal airframer’s second-quarter $139 million profit compares to a $223 million loss in the second quarter of 2020. The company’s second-quarter revenue came in at $1.5 billion; that is up 25% year-on-year.
Bombardier attributes the revenue jump to more aircraft deliveries and a bump in its aircraft services business – a segment in which the company has been expanding.
Bombardier boosted the value of its jet backlog by about $300 million in the second quarter, ending June with a backlog worth $10.7 billion.
“The level of activity, especially in North America, remains very strong. The rest of the world is picking up,” Martel says of jet order activity.
Bombardier delivered 29 aircraft in the second quarter, nine more than in the same period of 2020. The 29 second-quarter deliveries included three light jets, nine medium-cabin jets and 17 large jets (among them 11 of Bombardier’s flagship Global 7500).
The market continues an “upward trend”, Martel says, citing a “strong rebound” and saying macroeconomic indicators are encouraging.
He notes that demand for used aircraft has been remarkably strong, with only about 4-5% of the global used-aircraft fleet currently available for sale – a two-decade low.
“We see this pre-owned trend as an important leading indicator to new-aircraft demand,” Martel says. “It is also [creating] a better pricing landscape for new transactions.”
Meanwhile, Bombardier is also seeking a larger slice of the used-aircraft market, having in July started a “certified pre-owned aircraft programme” under which it will sell “like-new” used jets.
IMPROVED OUTLOOK
With market conditions looking up, Bombardier has tweaked its full-year 2021 expectations.
It now anticipates delivering about 120 aircraft in 2021, revised from its previous expectation of 110-120 deliveries.
The company has correspondingly upped its expected 2021 financial performance, now anticipating it will generate more than $5.8 billion in full-year revenue, up from a previous estimate of $5.6 billion.
Bombardier now expects to end 2021 with a $175 million full-year profit, adjusted to exclude interest expenses and taxes. Previously, it expected to end the year with an adjusted profit of more than $100 million.
