Story ID: 126
Airbus Deliveries Up, Orders Down 
By: Mark Huber
Caption: Airbus more than doubles earnings for the first half of 2019 while new orders fall sharply
Word Count: 465
Airbus, Leonardo, and Bell see signs of hope for the months ahead, the companies reported recently. Though Airbus Helicopters reported marginally higher year-over-year deliveries in the first half, the company still saw declines in revenues, earnings, and orders, parent company Airbus Group announced in late July. First-half revenues at the helicopter division fell 1 percent from a year ago, to €2.371 billion ($2.643 billion).

Meanwhile, Airbus Helicopters' earnings in the first six months slid by 7 percent from first-half 2018, to €125 million ($139.35 million), reflecting a less favorable delivery mix that was partially offset by an increased contribution from services, it said.

The company delivered 143 helicopters in the first six months, up from 141 in the same period last year, while new orders dropped to 123 units, down 20 from a year ago. Despite the 14 percent decrease in orders during this period, Airbus’s backlog stands at 7,276 aircraft as of June 30. Helicopter orders logged in the second quarter include 23 NH90 military helicopters for Spain and 11 H145 twins.

Driven by its defense and helicopter sectors, Leonardo posted solid order gains in the first half of 2019. New orders for the period amounted to $6.8 billion (€6.145 billion), an increase of 34 percent from the year-ago period, while backlog increased 11.4 percent to $40.2 billion (€36.321 billion).

Revenues increased by 7 percent to $6.6 billion (€5.962 billion), while EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) surged by 92.5 percent to $511.5 million (€462 million). Net income more than tripled to $386.4 million (€349 million). Group net debt also increased to $4.54 billion (€4.098 billion), compared with $3.84 billion (€3.474 billion) from the first half of 2018. 

Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo said the first-half results are “in line with expectations and we have achieved a strong commercial performance in both domestic and international markets."

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 in mid-July. The Fort Worth, Texas-based manufacturer delivered 53 commercial helicopters in the three-month period—four fewer 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.

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.
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