Textron results reveal disappointment for Cessna and good news for Bell

Textron Inc revealed disappointing figures for Cessna to contrast with a promising three months for Bell Helicopter in its third quarter results.

The industrial conglomerate revealed that deliveries at Cessna were down from 47 to 41, reflecting what Scott Donnelly, chairman/CEO, president and member of management committee, described as a “weak business jet demand environment.”

Frank Connor, CFO and executive vice president, said: “Revenues at Cessna were up $7 million on a year-over-year basis, primarily reflecting higher used jet sales, which more than offset lower new jet and other product line sales.

“Aftermarket sales were up approximately 2%, which was against a tough comparison as aftermarket sales were up 13.7% in last year’s third quarter. Segment profit was $30 million, down $3 million from last year’s third quarter,” he said.

Despite this, Textron were keen to put a positive spin on Cessna’s performance, with Donnelly saying: “I believe Cessna did a good job in the quarter, closing new orders in a very thin market.”
Bell fared better than Cessna, with the company experiencing a “significant increase” in demand for commercial helicopters.

“On the military side, we delivered 11 V-22s and 5 H-1s versus 9 V-22s and 7 H-1s in last year’s third quarter,” said Donnelly. “We saw another significant increase our commercial business with 46 units delivered in the quarter, up from 26 last year. This growth reflects continued overall strength in global helicopter markets, as well as the ramp-up in our 429 program and the success of our new 407GX.”

Bell saw revenues increase by $181 million with a surge in the deliveries of commercial units and V-22s.
The results also touched upon the progress that Cessna is making with the announcement that it has increased the range of the Cessna Latitude by 25%.

“[The] Latitude will now be a 2,500 nautical mile airplane, which we believe significantly enhances the value of this offering to our customers,” said Donnelly. “Our design team was also able to announce a new top speed for the new Citation Ten at Mach 0.935 preserving its gestation as the fastest commercial jet in the world.”

In the wider picture, Textron saw its overall revenues over the quarter increase by 6.6% – when compared to the same period of last year – to $3 billion. Income from continuing operations was also up from $0.45 per share in 2011 to $0.48.