Bombardier’s revenues jumped 32% in the second quarter to $2.2 billion as deliveries reached 39 business jets, a 34% increase from a year ago, the company reported this morning. Also helping that revenue bump was Bombardier’s services business, which topped $500 million for the first time in quarterly results as the Canadian manufacturer reaps the fruits of its significant expansion in that arena over the past few years.
As for the deliveries, they weighted more toward Challengers, with 20 handed over versus 15 in second-quarter 2023, while Global deliveries reached 19, compared with 14 last year.
For the first six months, Bombardier delivered 32 Challengers and 27 Globals, for a total of 59. This is up from the 51 jets handed over in the first half of 2023. However, this is being led by Challengers, with nine more delivered this year. Bombardier has delivered one fewer Global through the first half this year.
However, Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel maintains that this will shift in 2025, with Globals becoming the driver of growth. This includes the transition to the Global 8000, which Martel told analysts remains on track for first delivery by year-end.
As for this year, Bombardier reaffirmed its guidance to deliver between 150 and 155 aircraft (“plus or minus,” Martel said), even with the strike that occurred earlier this month at the company’s Global production plant in Toronto. He noted that the strike affected 11 working days and “a couple of tails” but that most of the Globals scheduled for delivery this year have already entered completions. Further, the company plans to catch up in the third and fourth quarters.
“We have seen a growing trend of workforce disruptions. Negotiations are getting more complex and frankly harder. It's becoming a reality across many industries,” Martel said. “We came to a fair solution that supports our people, as well as the company's long-term goals.” He added that the company is “working to address a bit of pressure” created by the few tails affected in the third and fourth quarters.
Bombardier has maintained a book-to-bill of about 1:1. Even so, backlog has grown by $700 million in the first half, to $14.9 billion.
On the services revenues side, the $507 million this quarter keeps Bombardier on track to reach its goal of $2 billion in annual revenues at the business segment—but a year ahead of when the company hoped to reach that target.
However, the supply chain remains a concern, Martel conceded, particularly with engines. “Supply chain is still a headwind,” Martel said. “Ultimately, our biggest area for intervention remains on the engines.”
He added that the company’s plan reflects what it has learned from “being very present upstream” and working closely with the engine makers. He said they are on track as Bombardier had expected, but “there is still work to be done to return to a level that I would qualify as good. They are getting traction on their recovery plans, but some remain more challenging than others."
Martel remained encouraged by a promising business outlook, particularly with solid business in North America and Asia, but also by the growth of its defense business, which was on display this year at the Farnborough International Airshow. He noted that the company has scored some key wins in that area and that it has been having a number of discussions with potential customers.
While defense was the emphasis for Farnborough, he said the business aviation side would be on display at shows in those sectors, including plans to return to NBAA. Bombardier had skipped EBACE this year, opting for smaller international business aviation shows and raising questions about whether it would sit out NBAA as its competitor, Gulfstream, has been expected to do. Gulfstream also opted not to attend the 2024 EBACE. Martel said these shows would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.