AIN Staff

Third-quarter earnings from five business jet OEMs are in, and with the exception of Gulfstream the results aren’t for the squeamish.
 Dassault Falcon Jet saw a decline in deliveries, according to the General Aviation Manufacturers Association’s report of third-quarter shipments. Total business jet shipments dropped from 28 in the second quarter to 22 in the third quarter, and the company reported a corresponding drop in billings from $1.118 billion in the second quarter to $920 million in the third quarter. Numbers were also down compared with last year’s third quarter, which saw delivery of 25 business jets and billings totaling $973.6 million.
 On the more positive side of the ledger, Falcon Jet president John Rosanvallon said he expects the company to deliver a record 85 aircraft before the New Year arrives. Embraer posted third-quarter net income of $98.5 million, up from $57 million in the same period last year. However, total jet deliveries (commercial and executive) in the third quarter dropped 22 percent. 
 The Brazilian OEM delivered 24 business jets, three fewer than in the same period last year, despite a continuing ramp-up of Phenom 300 deliveries. The 24 business jets delivered in the third quarter bring the total for the first nine months to 83, compared with 54 for the same period last year.
 Mixed Results At Textron–parent ­company of Cessna Aircraft and Bell Helicopter–third-quarter revenues were $2.5 billion, down 2.7 percent from the same period last year. Textron attributed the decline to fewer business jet deliveries at Cessna, where revenues decreased $290 million from last year as a result of lower new-aircraft sales. The Wichita OEM delivered 26 jets in the third quarter, down from 68 in the same period last year. 
 At Bell, revenues increased $197 million in the third quarter over last year’s revenues for the same period, thanks primarily to military helicopter deliveries and, to a lesser extent, civil helicopter shipments. Segment profit at Bell increased $28 million, but backlog decreased $537 million from the end of the second quarter.
 General Dynamics, the parent company of Gulfstream Aerospace, released its third-quarter report in mid-October and business aircraft segment earnings were up from $1.120 billion in last year’s third quarter to $1.291 billion for the same period this year. Chairman and CEO Jay Johnson pointed out that orders in the third quarter were the strongest of any quarter since 2008, and that the backlog, while down slightly, is nevertheless valued at “a robust $17.6 billion.”
 Hawker Beechcraft had mostly bad news at its third-quarter earnings conference call.
 The Wichita OEM reported net sales of $594.7 million for the third quarter, a drop of $163 million compared with the first nine months of last year. The company attributed the decrease to “lower aircraft deliveries in…the business and general aviation segment as a result of depressed demand across the general aviation market.”
 Underscoring lackluster demand for one of its products, the company announced plans to “temporarily suspend production of the Hawker 400XP to realign supply with demand. Current expectation is that we will resume production of the Hawker 400XP in early 2013,” said chairman and CEO Bill Boisture.

OEM revenues, shipments decline in 3Q 

Third-quarter earnings from five business jet OEMs are in, and with the exception of Gulfstream the results aren’t for the squeamish.
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