Cessna revenues fall by $110 million in the fourth quarter as Bell profits

Textron reported today that revenues in the fourth quarter of 2012 fell by $110 million at Cessna, whilst increasing by $139 million at Bell.

Segment profit at Cessna decreased $37 million, after an arbitration panel awarded $27.4 million to Canadian supplier Avcorp following a dispute over the company’s supplier agreement with Cessna.

The aircraft manufactured deliver 53 new Citation compared to the 67 in the previous year’s quarter and Cessna’ backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was down $267 million from the end of the third quarter.

Bell fared much better than Cessna, with the company delivering 80 helicopters – five more than the previous year – and segment profit increasing $10 million.

Bell’s backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $7.5 billion, up $1.2 billion from the end of the third quarter. Total revenues in the quarter were also up 3.3% at $3.4 billion.

Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO, said: “In 2013, we anticipate growth in revenue at Cessna on a modest increase in jet deliveries, a higher revenue mix of business jets and growth in aftermarket, modest growth at Bell, led by an increase in commercial helicopter sales.”