Bell Commercial Deliveries Surge in Second Quarter

Bell delivered 57 commercial helicopters in the second quarter of 2018, almost three times the 21 units delivered in the same period last year, Bell parent Textron Inc. reported yesterday.

The growth in commercial volumes offset a drop on the military side for the company, as revenues inched up one percent to $831 million in the quarter, compared with $825 million in second quarter 2017. Segment profit, meanwhile, grew $5 million to $117 million, Textron reported.

The unit ended the quarter with a backlog of $5.5 billion, up from $3.6 billion at the end of the first quarter. The leap in backlog comes as Bell signed a $2.2 billion multi-year contract with the U.S. Department of Defense for 58 V-22s. Deliveries are slated to begin on that contract in 2020.

But Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly said the commercial side of the business “continues to be strong” with orders coming in for both the 412 and 429, with a number of campaigns ongoing.

The increased deliveries come as the helicopter manufacturer has ramped up on the Bell 505 over the past year. These deliveries include four of the light singles to the Japanese Coast Guard and the first three into China following recent certification. “We continue to see positive demand in the commercial space, with strong representation across all our models,” the company reported.