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Bell Helicopter Lifts Textron in 2Q
By: Chad Trautvetter
Caption: Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter parent company Textron reported second-quarter revenues of $2.7 billion yesterday, up $19 million from a year ago.
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Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter parent company Textron reported second-quarter revenues of $2.7 billion yesterday, up $19 million from a year ago. Reported profits were $196 million, up $35 million from the same period last year. Textron chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly partially credited Bell–which saw its segment profit rise by $12 million year-over-year, to $120 million–for the improved results. At Cessna, revenues climbed $17 million, thanks mainly to growth in aftermarket support. Cessna delivered 38 new Citations in the quarter, compared with 43 a year ago. Donnelly said the smaller number this year stemmed from fewer deliveries of Mustangs, which have lower profit margins than other Citations. Profits at Cessna increased $2 million from last year, but they were still modest at $5 million. Backlog at Cessna as of June 30 was $2.5 billion, down $113 million from the end of the first quarter. Donnelly noted the addition of Cessna’s new CEO, Scott Ernest, saying “his deep industry experience and focus on talent development should have a meaningful impact on growth and performance success going forward.” According to Donnelly, the business jet market seems to be improving: “We saw an increase in gross orders from both the first quarter and last year’s second quarter.”