Textron’s Earnings Reflect The Market

October 28, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Bell, Business Line, Companies, Earnings, Events, Military Aviation, Textron, commercial aviation, logistics, production program 

Textron reported their third quarter earnings yesterday. They did beat expectations by not having a loss but had a profit of about 1 cent a share. This was a decline of ninety-eight percent from the year before. Despite all this the company is confident they will make a profit for a year and earnings would be as predicted.

Textron decline is caused by financial products and their civil air division. Sales of Cessna aircraft a luxury item right now were down a lot. The company has been reducing their participation in the financial sector due to the general downturn there. Despite Bell Helicopter’s struggles with the Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) the military part of the company saw some growth.

There have been previous reports that Textron might sell Bell or other parts as it reorganizes to face the current economic downturn but so far that has not happened. As with everyone the company will have to wait and see how the economy recovers and what growth occurs.

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Boeing’s Revenue Suffers But Not Due To Defense

April 24, 2009 by Matthew Potter · Comment
Filed under: Boeing, Business Line, Companies, Department of Defense, EADS, Earnings, Events, MDA, Military Aviation, Services, U.S. Air Force, commercial aviation, development program, missile defense, production program 

Update — When I wrote this originally I misspoke. Lockheed did eke out a slight gain from last year. Part of this was due to a share buyback that reduced the number of shares in circulation.

Boeing reported out their first quarter earnings today and revenue was down about fifty percent. This was mainly due to the reduction in demand for their passenger airplanes. As we discussed earlier there is concern that the proposed changes to the U.S. defense budget by the Obama Administration may negatively affect performance of the company’s defense sector in the future.

Interestingly they are the second of the four major defense contractors to report and like Lockheed Martin did see reduced earnings and revenue. The Seattle Times writes that the customers for airliners are deferring deliveries. The Boeing 777 saw a major drop in the number being constructed while the 787 ramps up to begin deliveries. The airline industry has taken a major beating as the world’s economy declines and this has had a negative effect on Boeing and EADS commercial product lines.

Boeing is hoping that Congress will temper the cuts to their programs included in the FY10 budget. Like in the past when it has continued C-17 production beyond what the Defense Department requested their is a possibility that the F-22, Airborne Laser and the missile defense cuts may not stand. This will probably be one of the ugliest parts of the defense appropriation process.

Boeing has had to reduce their estimate for the full year due to the recent decline in revenue. The company obviously is planning for a down year which is not surprising with the current world economic situation.

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