Story ID: 
Embraer Deliveries Reach Five-year High Mark
By: Kerry Lynch
Caption: Embraer large jet shipments drove gains in overall business jet shipments in 2015.
Word Count: 404
Embraer delivered a total of 221 business jets and airliners last year, marking its highest number of aircraft shipments in five years. Deliveries were up by 13 aircraft year-over-year, with both its executive aviation and commercial aviation units making gains. The business jet deliveries met Embraer’s guidance numbers, while commercial aircraft deliveries were above guidance.

The Brazilian manufacturer handed over 120 business jets last year—the most since 2010, when it shipped 144. Last year's deliveries were up by four aircraft over the 116 delivered in 2014. But the mix of business jet deliveries was more favorable last year, with midsize and large-cabin jet deliveries growing while deliveries of its Phenom light jets waned. The 2015 shipments included 82 Phenoms and 38 of the larger jets, which include the Legacy 450, 500 and 600 and Lineage 1000. In 2014, Phenoms accounted for 92 of the deliveries and larger jets the remaining 24 deliveries.

The increase in the large-jet category reflected the addition this year of the Legacy 450, as well as the ramp up of the Legacy 500. Embraer began deliveries of the 450 in the fourth quarter, handing over a total of three by year-end. The Brazilian manufacturer also shipped 20 Legacy 500s last year, including 12 in the fourth quarter alone.

Keeping with historical trends, the fourth quarter remained the strongest for Embraer Executive Jets, with 45 aircraft going out the door. The mix was more even than in previous quarters, with 25 Phenoms (all but two were Phenom 300s) and 20 large jets shipped in the quarter.

While the Phenom 300 has accounted for the majority of the Phenom deliveries in recent years, Embraer did receive an order from Emirates Flight Training Academy for five Phenom 100E business jets and options for five more. It also delivered the first Phenom 100E to a customer in China in December.

As for Commercial Aviation, Embraer shipped 101 aircraft in all of 2015; 33 in the fourth quarter. The full-year deliveries beat guidance by one aircraft and marked a nine-aircraft increase over the 92 commercial jets delivered in 2014. The E175 remained the top seller with 82 deliveries in 2015, compared with 62 in 2014. That trend is poised to continue with orders coming in the fourth quarter from SkyWest for 19 more E175s and KLM confirming two options for the airplane.

Firm order backlog, meanwhile, dipped only slightly, from $22.8 billion at the end of the third quarter to $22.5 billion at year-end. However, this was still up from the $20.9 billion at the end of 2014.