Bombardier beats profit estimates, puts off 2025 forecast on US tariff uncertainty (updated)

Textron

06/02/2025 12:01

(Recasts first paragraph, adds background in paragraph 5,
estimates in paragraphs 6 and 9)
    By Allison Lampert and Aatreyee Dasgupta
       MONTREAL, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Canadian planemaker
Bombardier  BBDb.TO  on Thursday beat quarterly profit estimates
on aftermarket business strength, and delayed its 2025 forecast,
citing uncertainty related to U.S. President Donald Trump's
tariffs.
    Resilient demand for private flying has boosted jet makers'
order books and their aftermarket businesses, despite a
slower-than-expected recovery in the aerospace supply chain.
    But Trump's 25% tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports is
creating uncertainty for planemakers, even though the duties
have been delayed by 30 days.
    Bombardier sells most of its Canadian-assembled jets to U.S.
customers, while aerospace major RTX's  RTX.N  Pratt & Whitney
Canada unit produces jet engines for U.S.-based Textron  TXT.N 
and General Dynamics'  GD.N  Gulfstream.
        Planemakers including Bombardier have been wrestling
with supply-chain snags that have weighed on production.
Supply-chain giant Honeywell, which provides engines to
Bombardier, on Thursday announced a 
    deal to split
     into three independently listed companies.
  
    For the fourth quarter, Montreal-based Bombardier posted a
1.5% rise in revenue to $3.11 billion, compared with analysts'
estimate of $3.18 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
    On an adjusted basis, it earned $3.01 per share in the
fourth quarter, compared with analysts' estimate of $2.04.
    Its full-year revenue rose 8% to $8.67 billion. The
company's services business generated $2.04 billion in annual
revenue, hitting a company target a year earlier than expected.
    In 2024, Bombardier delivered 146 aircraft, up from 138 in
2023, but below its November forecast of 150-155 jets.
    The company reported $232 million in full-year free cash
flow, a metric closely watched by investors, in-line with its
targets.
    The planemaker's backlog rose 1% from $14.2 billion to $14.4
billion in 2024.

 (Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Aatreyee Dasgupta
in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
 ((Aatreyee.Dasgupta@thomsonreuters.com;))