MONTREAL, QUEBEC–(Marketwire – Feb. 5, 2009) –
– Business aircraft: 239 deliveries; 262 net orders
– Commercial aircraft: 110 deliveries; 114 net orders
– Amphibious aircraft: 4 deliveries; 2 net orders
– Book-to-bill ratio for the year stands at 1.07
For fiscal year 2009/10
– Total current fiscal year 2009/10 aircraft deliveries expected to be slightly less than fiscal year 2008/09 with approximately 10 per cent fewer business aircraft, and approximately 10 per cent more commercial aircraft
– Reduction of Learjet and Challenger production rates in response to current market demand; as a result, manpower level is reduced by 1,360 or 4.5 per cent of total labour force of 30,000 workers
– Q400 turboprop production rate increased
– New aircraft programs CSeries, Learjet 85 and CRJ1000 NextGen making excellent progress; recruitment continues for 830 new permanent open positions for new aircraft programs and for the Global Completion Centre
Bombardier Aerospace announced today that it delivered 353(i) aircraft for the fiscal year ending January 31, 2009. This compares to 361 aircraft deliveries in the previous fiscal year 2007/08 (year ending January 31, 2008). It also received 378(i) aircraft orders, net of cancellations, compared to an exceptional 698 orders, net of cancellations, for the previous fiscal year. Its book-to-bill ratio for the year stands at 1.07. Overall, Bombardier Aerospace delivered a solid performance in view of the continued worsening of the economy and its impact on the aviation industry.
For the current fiscal year 2009/10, Bombardier expects to deliver a slightly lower total number of aircraft than last fiscal year 2008/09.
Tables at the end of this press release provide delivery totals and net order totals for business, commercial and amphibious aircraft for the previous fiscal year 2008/09.
“The industry is experiencing strong turbulence and we anticipate more volatility in the short term. The fundamentals of Bombardier Aerospace are solid, but we expect we will face more challenges this year,” said Guy C. Hachey, President and Chief Operating Officer, Bombardier Aerospace. “While the Corporation has taken significant steps to strengthen its operational and financial position over the last years, we must continue to be prudent and take decisive action. We will thus ensure our continued success over the long term and maintain our leadership position by meeting our customer commitments and by continuing to invest in our current and future products,” he added.
Production rates adjustment
In fiscal year 2008/09, Bombardier delivered 239(i) business jets compared to 232 for the same period last year. It received an intake of 262(i) orders, net of cancellations, compared to an exceptional 452 orders, net of cancellations, for the same period last year. The company has felt the impact of the worldwide economic slowdown through a greater than usual level of deferrals and cancellations for its business aircraft and, as a result, is reducing its Learjet and Challenger production rates. The book-to-bill ratio for fiscal year 2008/09 stands at 1.1.
For the current fiscal year 2009/10, Bombardier expects to deliver approximately 10 per cent fewer business aircraft compared to last fiscal year 2008/09.
For commercial aircraft, in fiscal year 2008/09, Bombardier delivered 110(i) commercial aircraft compared to 128 during the same period last year. The order intake for fiscal year 2008/09 totalled 114(i) aircraft, net of cancellations, compared to 238, net of cancellations, for the previous year, representing a book-to-bill ratio of slightly above one.
As a result of the rising demand for Bombardier’s largest turboprop, the production rate for the 78-seat Q400 aircraft is increased, while the production rate for the CRJ Series regional jets remains unchanged. Recent orders for Bombardier’s Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines and Colgan Air demonstrate Bombardier has the right products for operators looking to take advantage of its aircraft’s competitive operating economics.
Bombardier expects to deliver in the current fiscal year 2009/10, approximately 10 per cent more commercial aircraft compared to last fiscal year 2008/09.
For amphibious aircraft, in fiscal year 2008/09, Bombardier delivered four Bombardier 415 amphibious aircraft compared to one aircraft the previous fiscal year 2007/08 and, received two orders for the specialized Bombardier 415 MP, compared to eight orders for Bombardier 415 the previous year.
New CSeries, Learjet 85 and CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft programs progressing well
Bombardier’s new aircraft programs, the CSeries, Learjet 85 and CRJ1000 NextGen aircraft continue to make excellent progress. With continued growth expected in the medium to long term, the market needs new, innovative aircraft that provide operators with the optimized solution to meet their business objectives.
Manpower impact
Bombardier Aerospace’s long-term human resources strategy is to establish stability in its permanent workforce levels by hiring temporary workers mainly through third party contractors to provide increased flexibility in periods of fluctuation.
Therefore, the decision to adjust the Learjet and Challenger business aircraft production rates is expected to result in a total workforce reduction of approximately 1,010 temporary workers/subcontractors and 350 permanent employees, or about 4.5 per cent out of a total workforce of approximately 30,000 workers worldwide. The severance costs associated with the manpower reduction of permanent employees are expected to be less than $5 million.
The workforce reductions will take place at Bombardier Aerospace’s facilities in Montreal, Wichita and Belfast over a five-month period, starting in February 2009. The layoff of permanent employees includes unionized, salaried and management personnel.
A table at the end of this press release provides additional information on the workforce reductions and the number of permanent new open positions.
“These are very challenging times. The decision to reduce our workforce was difficult to make and we fully recognize the impact it will have on our affected workers,” stated Mr. Hachey.
Bombardier Aerospace’s overall employment numbers will remain essentially at a similar level as recruitment for new permanent open positions, mostly for the new aircraft programs, will partly offset the reduction of 1,360 jobs. In fact, recruitment for more than 600 permanent new open positions for Bombardier’s newly launched aircraft, the CSeries and Learjet 85 aircraft continues, and Bombardier is in the process of recruiting about 230 interior completion specialists for its Global aircraft completion centre in Montreal. The total number of permanent open positions is approximately 830 at Bombardier’s Montreal and Belfast sites.
About Bombardier
A world-leading manufacturer of innovative transportation solutions, from commercial aircraft and business jets to rail transportation equipment, systems and services, Bombardier Inc. is a global corporation headquartered in Canada. Its revenues for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, 2008, were $17.5 billion US, and its shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD). Bombardier is listed as an index component to the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America indexes. News and information are available at www.bombardier.com.
(i)Unaudited results.
Bombardier, Learjet, Challenger, Global, CSeries, CRJ, NextGen, CRJ1000, Q400, Bombardier 415 and Bombardier 415 MP are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.
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TABLES
Fiscal year 2008/09 delivery totals
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-- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Aircraft                   Deliveries(i)           Deliveries
                      Fiscal year 2008/09      Fiscal year 2007/08
              (Year ending Jan. 31, 2009)(Year ending Jan. 31, 2008)
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Commercial aircraft
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 CRJ Series                  56                      62
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 Q-Series                    54                      66
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                             110                     128
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Business aircraft
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Learjet Series              70                      81
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 Challenger Series          116                     103
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 Global Series               53                      48
---------------------------------------------------------------------
(including those in the
fractional ownership
program(ii))Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 239Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 232
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Amphibious Aircraft
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Bombardier 415               4                       1
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand total                  353                     361
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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(ii) An aircraft delivery is included in the above table when the
    equivalent of 100 per cent of the fractional shares of an
     aircraft model have been sold to external customers.
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Fiscal year 2008/09 net order totals
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Aircraft                Net Orders(i)            Net Orders
                   Fiscal year 2008/09     Fiscal year 2007/08
              (Year ending Jan. 31, 2009)(Year ending Jan. 31, 2008)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 CRJ Series                  47                     141
---------------------------------------------------------------------
 Q400                        67                      97
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Commercial aircraft          114                     238
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Business aircraft            262                     452
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Amphibious Aircraft            2                       8
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Grand total                  378                     698
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(i) Unaudited.
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Impact on manpower level by sites
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                                                           Number of
                                                       permanent new
Site      Number of layoffs -  Number of layoffs -  open positions
         permanent employees    temporary workers/ for new aircraft
            (approximate)       subcontractors        programs and
                                  (approximate)              Global
                                                          Completion
                                                              Centre
                                                        (approximate)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Belfast                 ---                  300              100
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Montreal-area sites      210                  500              730
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Wichita                 140                  210              ---
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                   350                1,010              830
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of
layoffs related
to rate adjustments             1,360
———————————————————————
Source: Bombardier
