Bombardier's finances improved in the second quarter ended 31 July, with aerospace revenues and earnings edging up on higher than expected regional jet deliveries.
Overall revenues were flat, but Bombardier Aerospace turned around from a C$75 million ($54 million) loss a year earlier to report a C$24 million profit on revenues up 3% to C$2.8 billion.
The Canadian manufacturer delivered 19 business jets and 66 regional aircraft in the second quarter, compared with 21 and 53, respectively, a year earlier. Regional deliveries beat the forecast of 57 aircraft, says Bombardier chief executive Paul Tellier.
But the higher deliveries ate into the firm order backlog, which had declined to C$16 billion by the end of the quarter, down from C$18.7 billion at the end of January, as new orders failed to keep pace, according to the manufacturer.
Bombardier's recapitalisation initiative, announced in April and intended to strengthen its balance sheet, is almost complete and has exceeded the company's expectations, raising more than C$2.5 billion, says Tellier.
The initiative includes the agreed sale of Bombardier's Recreational Products division for more than C$1.2 billion; a C$1.2 billion equity issue; and the sale of the company's Military Aviation Services unit for C$127 million and Belfast City Airport for C$78 million. Tellier says the sale is under way of Bombardier's Military Aviation Training unit, which operates the NATO Flying Training in Canada programme.
Source: Flight International
