Bombardier’s stock price jumped more than 4 percent in early trading this morning after the Canadian business jet airframer announced its preliminary 2022 financial results, which trended higher than previous guidance, along with a tender offer to repurchase high-interest 7.5 percent senior debt coming due in 2024 and 2025. It also delivered 123 business jets year, up from 120 in 2021. Bombardier will formally announce its fourth-quarter and full-year 2022 results on February 9.
Montreal-based Bombardier expects 2022 revenue to finish at $6.9 billion, up from the previously forecasted $6.5 billion, and free cash flow to top out at $735 million, an increase from the prior predicted $515 million. Overall liquidity stands at $1.7 billion. Bombardier said its book-to-bill ratio stood at 1.4 and its year-over-year backlog had grown to $14.8 billion.
The company’s share price is up more than 12 percent on the year and 31 percent over the last 12 months as it has aggressively paid down debt and built its backlog.
In the first nine months of 2022, Bombardier posted a net loss of $369 million from operations and had financing expenses of $697 million, during which time it paid down $855 million worth of its outstanding debt. However, as of September 30, the company’s long-term debt stood at $6.989 billion and its current debt increased from $4.768 billion at the end of 2021 to $5.479 billion in the third quarter, with total indebtedness at $12.468 billion.