PROVIDENCE – A rise in aircraft deliveries by its Cessna unit helped boost Textron Inc.’s fourth-quarter profits by 65 percent, according to Bloomberg News.
Textron yesterday posted net income of $195 million for the quarter, compared with $118 million a year earlier. Its net income per share, $1.53, beat the average prediction of 98 cents from a Bloomberg survey of 10 analysts.
Sales were up 19 percent, to $3.2 billion. The strong sales at Textron Financial and Textron Systems, parent of Bell Helicopter, were partly offset by extra development costs of $50 million, or 25 cents per share, on Bell’s defense contract for the Army H-1 reconnaissance aircraft, Bloomberg said. But, Textron CFO Ted French said in a conference call yesterday evening, the problem should be cleared up “over the next three quarters.”
The company’s shares closed yesterday at $96.58 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Textron’s complete fourth-quarter and full-year 2006 filing is posted at investor.textron.com/newsroom.
