Textron Aviation reports revenue growth despite flat jet shipments

Scott Donnelly, chairman and CEO of parent company Textron remarked during the company’s earnings call: “We continued to execute on key programs including the Citation Ascend.”

Net cash provided by operating activities of the manufacturing group for the second quarter was $383 million compared to $314 million last year. The company’s backlog at the end of the second quarter was $7.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Textron's eAviation segment reported revenues of $9 million and a loss of $18 million compared with a segment loss of $12 million in the second quarter of 2023. This was largely attributed to increased research and development expenses aimed at advancing Textron’s position in the electric aviation market. During the quarter Textron eAviation acquired Amazilia Aerospace a developer of digital flight control flight guidance and vehicle management systems for civil crewed and uncrewed aircraft.

Donnelly commented on supply chain challenges noting: “There are still parts from suppliers that continue to give us some heartache with late deliveries and that does create some issues around flow in the factory but we’ve been managing through that and despite the tough environment business is performing well.”

In terms of new product developments Textron Aviation achieved significant milestones in the second quarter. The company certified a third variant of Cessna SkyCourier Combi version which allows operators to transport passengers and cargo simultaneously: “Combined with previously certified passenger and cargo variants this latest variant continues to demonstrate versatility,” Donnelly said Additionally team completed first flight Cessna Citation Ascend marking critical milestone program over 400 hours flight testing completed date

Donnelly also noted: “We're seeing strong demand jets turboprops across all models whole family products expect continued strength new launches like Ascend.”

Looking ahead he remains optimistic: “We are still expecting higher unit deliveries in 2024 than in 2023 We're little behind where would like couple these models Latitude particular few deliveries towards end didn't get out now gone”

“The market is strong our backlog supports robust demand feel good about performance expect see continued growth efficiency improvements coming quarters”