Bell saw its revenue and profit slip on lower military volume and slightly fewer commercial helicopter deliveries in the second quarter of 2019, parent company Textron Inc. reported yesterday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based manufacturer delivered 53 commercial helicopters in the three-month period—four less than in the year-ago quarter—partly contributing to a 7 percent decline in revenue, to $771 million, and a $14 million drop in profit.
On a conference call with analysts yesterday, Textron CEO Scott Donnelly said he expects improvement in commercial helicopters in the third quarter as manufacturing increases to meet demand. “Despite the lower commercial deliveries in the quarter, we expect to see a ramp in deliveries in the second half of the year supported by continued strong order activity and increased production rates,” he explained. “The demand is there. The orders are there. It’s been a matter of getting production up and delivering at a higher rate, and that’s where we are now.”
Backlog at the end of the second quarter was $6 billion, down slightly from $6.3 billion at the end of March, but up $500 million from second-quarter 2018.