Textron Aviation sales down $262m for first quarter, jets down 44

Ground photography of the Cessna Citation Longitude with the new NetJets' paint scheme..Textron West Facility (ICT).Wichita KS USA

Textron Aviation sales were down $262m to $872m  for the first quarter of 2020. It delivered 23 jets, down from 44 last year, and 16 turboprops, down from 44 compared with the first three months of 2019.

Segment profit was $3m  in the first quarter, down $103m from 2019. This was due to the cut in deliveries – partly caused by travel restrictions for customers – and $12 million of idle facility costs due to stopping production and furloughing employees because of Covid-19. An accident in December 2019 also led to delays with composite manufacturing.

Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO of Textron said:

“Our team is meeting the unprecedented challenges presented by this pandemic with a commitment to the health and safety of our employees and communities while meeting customer commitments. We have taken measures to reduce cost and conserve cash, including temporary plant shutdowns and employee furloughs at many of our commercial businesses. While the effects of COVID-19 on many of our end markets has been unfavorable, Bell and Textron Systems delivered higher revenue and strong margin performance for the quarter in their military businesses.”

Textron Aviation had a $1.4 billion backlog at the end of the quarter.