Story ID: 020 March
Textron Aviation Aircraft Deliveries Soar in Q4
By: Jerry Siebenmark
Caption: Revenue and profit also rose for Wichita-based Textron Aviation.
Word Count: 327
Despite ongoing supply-chain issues, Textron Aviation saw more jet and turboprop deliveries, revenue, and profit in the fourth quarter, parent company Textron reported. Cessna Citation deliveries during the quarter totaled 52 versus 46 in the same period a year earlier while turboprop deliveries—Cessna Caravans, Beechcraft King Airs, and Cessna SkyCouriers—rose to 47, up from 43 in late 2021.

In the fourth quarter, Textron Aviation earned $1.6 billion in revenue, a $223 million year-over-year increase. Profit increased by $32 million from fourth-quarter 2021 to $169 million. Backlog was $6.4 billion at the end of 2022, up from $4.1 billion in late 2021.

Textron CEO Scott Donnelly admitted on an earnings call with analysts that the supply chain affected the number of aircraft Textron Aviation delivered. “We were a few hundred million dollars light versus our initial guide, based on the fact that we continue to see supply-chain challenges,” he said. “I think we’ve had a number of suppliers that were challenged [but] are getting better. But you always have a couple out there that are still struggling. We kind of anticipated that in the back half of the year...There’s still going to be supply-chain challenges along the way, but we think we’ve taken that into proper consideration in terms of the 2023 guide.”

While various reports have discussed signs of an economic slowdown and waning new aircraft sales, Donnelly said customer demand for Textron Aviation’s aircraft across the product line is unchanged.

“I think our order rate in the fourth quarter was consistent with the third quarter—it remains quite healthy,” he said. A slight increase in used available aircraft isn’t necessarily a sign of overall slowing sales when those aircraft that are listed could be types that are less popular and older than other aircraft on the used market, Donnelly added. “We think obviously the market has been very strong. We haven’t seen a material change in the level of activity.”
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