Story ID: 
Bell Ends 2019 on Solid Footing
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Bell delivered more civil helicopters in both the fourth quarter and all of 2019 than it did in the corresponding periods of the previous year.
Word Count: 167
Bell delivered more civil helicopters in both the fourth quarter and all of 2019 than it did in the corresponding periods of the previous year, parent company Textron said yesterday during its quarterly investor conference call. In the last three months of 2019, Bell delivered 76 civil helicopters, up from 46 in the same year-ago period. For the full year, civil helicopter deliveries totaled 201, nine more than in 2018.

Revenue at Bell climbed $74 million last year, to $3.254 billion, while segment profit increased by $10 million, to $435 million, thanks to higher commercial volume, Textron said. Backlog at the rotorcraft manufacturer ended 2019 at $6.9 billion, up from $5.8 billion a year earlier.

“We saw higher deliveries from increased order demand that we've seen over the last year-and-a-half,” said Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly. “We’re expecting continued strong execution in 2020 [at Bell], with lower military production offset by higher military aftermarket and higher commercial volumes.”

Textron is forecasting revenue of about $3.3 billion at its Bell subsidiary this year.