Bombardier today reported its fourth quarter and full year 2016 results. The Company also affirmed its guidance for 2017 and highlighted another quarter of solid performance as it executes its turnaround plan.
“Our turnaround plan is in full motion,” said Alain Bellemare, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc. “In 2016, Bombardier delivered on its financial commitments. We met our program milestones and we’ve positioned the Company to achieve all of the financial goals in our five-year turnaround plan, including being cash flow break-even in 2018.”
On a consolidated basis, Bombardier exceeded its 2016 guidance range for EBIT before special items(3); improved its year-over-year cash performance by $778 million; and delivered approximately 200 basis points of margin improvement at its Transportation, Business Aircraft and Aerostructures segments. With the successful refinancing of $1.4 billion of senior notes in the fourth quarter, the Company also successfully completed the de-risking phase of its turnaround plan in 2016, securing the liquidity necessary to fully execute the final two phases of the plan: building earnings and cash flow and de-leveraging its balance sheet.
Further highlighting the Company’s progress in the fourth quarter was the successful entry-into-service of the CS300 aircraft with airBaltic, which followed the strong performance of the CS100 aircraft with SWISS since starting commercial operations over six months ago. Bombardier’s all-new, class-defining, ultra-long range business jet, the Global 7000, also began flight testing in the fourth quarter and remains on schedule to enter service in the second half of 2018.
“As we begin 2017, we are confident in our strategy, our turnaround plan and in our ability to unleash the full value of the Bombardier portfolio,” Bellemare continued. “We remain focused on improving operational efficiency, flawlessly ramping up our new programs and maintaining a disciplined and proactive approach to deliver value to customers and shareholders in any market environment.”
