First-quarter revenues at Bombardier Business Aircraft climbed 9 percent year-over-year, to $1.11 billion, as deliveries also ticked up by two units, to 31 aircraft, parent company Bombardier announced today. Profitability at the segment likewise soared 20 percent in the quarter, to $98 million.

The mix of business jets delivered in the first three months was more favorable compared with the same period last year. Bombardier handed over three Learjet 70/75s, 12 Challenger 350s, six Challenger 605s, and 10 Global 5000/6000s. This compares with five Learjets, nine 350s, six 650s, and eight Globals in last year’s first quarter. Even with this increase in deliveries, backlog still inched up to $14.3 billion at the end of March, up from $14.2 billion a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the company is gearing up to begin deliveries of its flagship Global 7000 by year-end, with “a few” expected to be handed over to customers this year, Bombardier Inc. president and CEO Alain Bellemare said today during the company’s first-quarter investor call. Next year, it plans to hand over some 20 of the new Globals before ramping up to a rate of about 40 per year by 2021. Bellemare added that production slots for the Global 7000 are sold out through 2021.