Bombardier delivered one more aircraft in the second quarter of 2023 than a year earlier, but the mix shifted with Challengers seeing increases while deliveries softened with Globals, the Canadian manufacturer reported this morning. Even so, the $1.7 billion in revenues brought in during April, May, and June marked an 8 percent jump from the second quarter of 2022 and adjusted EBITDA grew by 37 percent to $275 million.
The company delivered 29 aircraft in the second quarter, with 15 of them Challengers and 14 Globals. This is up from 28 a year earlier, including 12 Challengers and 16 Globals. For the year, Bombardier has delivered 51 business jets thus far, up from 49 a year ago, with the Globals accounting for 28 of them and the Challengers 23.
Éric Martel, Bombardier president and CEO, added that the company remains on track to meet its guidance of 138 deliveries for all of 2023, estimating more than 87 will occur in the back half of the year. “As I look at everything we have in work today on the lines, I am very comfortable with our more than 138 total delivery target,” he told analysts today during the company’s second-quarter results presentation.
To get there, Bombardier has an inventory build of almost $500 million, and Martel noted that most of the airplanes are in production and that the company has a “line of sight” on meeting its goals. It also has continued to shore up its supply chain, including bringing in-house the wiring manufacturing business in Mexico. The company further plans to open its global aircraft manufacturing center at Toronto Pearson Airport this year.
Meanwhile, Martel was bullish about Bombardier's outlook, noting, “We are fully on track to where we expect it to be on a book-to-bill and backlog.” Book-to-bill has remained at about 1:1 for the year, with the second quarter being a little better than that, while backlog edged up to $14.9 billion, from $14.8 billion at the end of the first quarter. The company did not receive any cancellations in the second quarter.
“We are in good shape as it averages out to around 18 to 24 months depending on the platform,” Martel said.
He noted that market dynamics are proving strong, with Asia showing a normalization and the Middle East picking back up. But for Bombardier, large-fleet operators have been the “big winner” of the past three years, with the Bombardier fleet alone flying 51 percent more than in 2019 with those operators and even 14 percent more than last year.
As for revenues, Bombardier also pointed to its rapidly growing services business, which brought in $428 million in the second quarter, a 19 percent year-over-year increase.
“Our team successfully navigated a highly dynamic business environment that saw sustained demand for new and preowned jets, as well as steady service growth, all while supply chain pressure persisted,” Martel said.
As the company continues to progress on its debt, it reported a positive adjusted net income of $80 million, marking a turnaround from the $38 million loss last year.