PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc., the maker of Cessna planes and Bell helicopters, posted a fourth-quarter profit as business-jet deliveries rose and rotorcraft prices increased.
Net income totaled $60 million, or 19 cents a share, in the three months ended Jan. 1, compared with a loss of $63 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. Excluding one-time items, profit from continuing operations was 33 cents a share, versus the 26 cent average of nine analysts’ estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
ISO 9001:2026: A Practical Opportunity to Build for What’s Next
For Rhode Island manufacturers, ISO 9001 has been much more than a certificate on the…
Learn More
Cessna delivered 79 business jets in the quarter, up from 68 a year earlier, while earnings at Bell rose by $54 million, helped by prices that exceeded inflation, the Providence-based company said in a statement on Wednesday. One-time charges, including restructuring costs, were lower after Textron slashed its workforce during the recession amid plunging sales.
“We’re particularly encouraged by the pick-up in business jet and commercial helicopter demand, reflecting relative stability in global economies and improving general business confidence,” CEO Scott Donnelly said.
For the full year, Textron posted revenue of $10.53 billion, a slight increase from 2009’s $10.5 billion, as net income totaled $86 million, a reversal of the $31 million loss the previous year. Earnings per share came to 28 cents (from both continuing and discontinued operations), versus a loss of 12 cents per share in 2009.
Earnings from continuing operations will be in the range of $1 to $1.15 a share in 2011, the company said. The average of nine analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.24, excluding one-time items.
Business-jet builders are feeling more confident that sales will recover as the supply of used aircraft shrinks, Clay Jones, CEO of cockpit-instrument maker Rockwell Collins Inc., said last week. Bombardier Inc., General Dynamics Corp. and Embraer SA also build corporate jets.
Textron fell 7 cents to $27.07 Tuesday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The shares have gained 28 percent in the past 12 months.
