Bombardier restructures aerospace business

However, it would not include Bombardier’s aerostructures manufacturing factories in Northern Ireland and Morocco, which have been put up for sale.

Bombardier chief executive Alain Bellemare said uniting the business aircraft and commercial aircraft divisions was the right step for the company.

“We are very excited to announce the strategic formation of Bombardier Aviation,” Bellemare said in a statement on Thursday (Canadian time).

“The consolidation will simplify and better focus our organization on our leading brands, Global, Challenger, Learjet and the CRJ.

It will also allow us to better support our customers and generate value for shareholders.”

Bombardier’s manufacturing facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland, makes the wings for the Airbus A220 family of aircraft, which was previously known as the CSeries before the Airbus acquired a 50 per cent stake in the program in 2018.

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Meanwhile, the Casablanca, Morocco, plant makes aeronautical equipment such as Airbus A320neo nacelle thrust reversers.

Bellemare said Bombardier would focus its aerostructures activities around its facilities in Montreal, Canada, Querétaro, Mexico and Texas in the United States.

“Collectively, these facilities provide Bombardier with all the skills, technologies and capabilities to design, produce and service the current and next generation of aircraft,” Bellemare said.

Bombardier’s commercial aircraft business is centred around the CRJ family of regional jets that comprises the CRJ700 (up to 78 seats and 1,400nm range), CRJ900 (up to 90 seats and 1,550nm range) and CRJ1000 (up to 104 seats and 1,650nm range). The company is also building a new CRJ550 50-seat regional jet that is based on the CRJ700.

In November 2018, the company announced the sale of its turboprop commercial aircraft business to the parent company of Canada-based aircraft manufacturer Viking Air for CAD$300 million. The transaction covered the in-production Q400 as well as all assets, intellectual property and type certificates associated with the out-of-production Dash 8 series – 100, 200 and 300 – aircraft.

Meanwhile, its business aircraft lineup features the Challenger, Global and Learjet brands.

Results

Bombardier reported net income, or net profit, of C$239 million for the three months to March 31 2019, up from C$44 million in the prior corresponding period.

Revenue fell 13 per cent to C$3.52 billion, Bombardier said in a statement on Thursday, amid fewer aircraft deliveries, slower project ramp up at its transportation business, which makes trains, and unfavourable currency translation.

The commercial aircraft business posted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of $22 million for the three months of March 31 2019, compared with negative EBIT of $73 million in the prior corresponding period.

Meanwhile, the business jet business posted EBIT of C$594 million, up from C$97 million in the prior corresponding period thanks to the proceeds from the sale of the some training activities to CAE announced in November 2018.

In terms of the outlook, Bombardier said revenue across the business for calendar 2019 was expected to be C$17 billion, down about C$1 billion from the prior year.

Adjusted EBIT was tipped to be within the range of C$1-1.15 billion, compared with C$1.107 billion in the prior corresponding period.

VIDEO: A look at the short-field performance of the Global 7500 from the Bombardier YouTube channel.