May 05, 2022

Bombardier Reports First Quarter 2022 Results, Grows Backlog by $1.3 Billion, Meaningfully Expands Profit Margins, and Delivers Fourth Consecutive Quarterly Positive Free Cash Flow in Continued Progress Towards Long-term Objectives

  • Revenues of $1.2 billion reflect strong aftermarket performance and 21 aircraft deliveries, well on track towards full year guidance of more than 120 deliveries. 
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) rose to $167 million, a 36% year-over-year improvement fueled by Global 7500 margin expansion, execution of cost reduction plan and higher contributions from aftermarket. First quarter reported EBIT from continuing operations was $85 million. 
  • Strong free cash flow(1) generation of $173 million from continuing operations represents an improvement of $578 million year-over-year and tracks ahead of plan, driven by strong order intake, reduction in interest paid and earnings growth. Adjusted liquidity(1) stands strong at $1.8 billion. Reported cash flows from operating activities for the quarter was $217 million and net additions to PP&E and intangible assets for the quarter were $44 million. Cash and cash equivalents as at March 31, 2022 were $1.4 billion.
  • First quarter unit book-to-bill(2) of 2.5 and backlog rose by $1.3 billion to $13.5 billion since the beginning of 2022, a reflection of continued strong order intake.
     

All amounts in this press release are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise indicated. 
Amounts in tables are in millions, unless otherwise indicated.

First Quarter 2022 Financial Performance

With its strong portfolio of world-leading jets and an expanding service network, Bombardier is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the demand for both new jets and services. This strength supported consolidated cash generation of $173 million for the first quarter of 2022, which represents a $578 million improvement compared to the same quarter last year. “I am particularly pleased with the continued robust free cash flow generation we achieved in this quarter. This is a testament to the concerted efforts of our sales team that worked diligently to make the most of vigorous demand, and secured a very strong order intake,” Martel said. “While we are clearly tracking well to our free cash flow guidance for 2022, we are opting to take a few months to measure the impact of the current global geopolitical and market contexts to carefully assess the true size of any potential upside.”

Bombardier’s revenues from business jet sales and aftermarket services totaled $1.2 billion during the first quarter of 2022 as business jet utilization and flight hours continued to rise around the world. The company delivered a total of 21 aircraft in the first quarter of 2022. Bombardier also reported record aftermarket revenues, a ~34% improvement over the same quarter last year. The strong demand was reflected also in the 2.5 unit book-to-bill ratio and a growing backlog that rose by $1.3 billion to $13.5 billion since the beginning of 2022.
In terms of profit, the company expanded its year-over-year adjusted EBITDA margin(3) by 420 basis points to reach 13.4%. Adjusted EBITDA(1) was at $167 million, a 36% improvement over the same quarter last year, thanks mainly to higher aftermarket revenues, incremental Global 7500 contribution and cost structure improvements. The EBIT from continuing operations was $85 million.

Major Step in Debt Reduction

During the first quarter of 2022, Bombardier completed the partial redemption of outstanding Senior Notes in the total value of $400 million, a major milestone in its deleveraging strategy. Bombardier was able to repay this debt by utilizing cash and cash equivalents generated in 2021. Continued deleveraging of the business remains a priority for Bombardier. “It is clear that we have meaningful cash generation potential ahead of us that we can continue to allocate towards debt reduction, but also significant strategic investments,” emphasized Martel.

Global 7500 Milestone

The company concluded the first quarter of 2022 with a landmark achievement for the industry flagship Global 7500. On March 30, 2022 it delivered the 100th Global 7500 to long-time client VistaJet. This is the 10th Global 7500 for VistaJet, which plans to welcome up to a total of 17 into its fleet by the end of 2022. “This delivery represented an extremely important moment for all of us at Bombardier, in Montréal, Toronto and Wichita, where our extraordinary teams are designing, building and testing this amazing aircraft,” said Martel. “We also celebrated the fact that we have now reached our targeted unit cost for this aircraft, which has been rapidly growing its EBITDA contribution over the last year and will see its margins more than double between 2021 and 2025.”
 

SELECTED RESULTS (PDF)


About Bombardier

Bombardier is a global leader in aviation, focused on designing, manufacturing and servicing the world's most exceptional business jets. Bombardier’s Challenger and Global aircraft families are renowned for their cutting-edge innovation, cabin design, performance and reliability. Bombardier has a worldwide fleet of approximately 5,000 aircraft in service with a wide variety of multinational corporations, charter and fractional ownership providers, governments and private individuals. Bombardier aircraft are also trusted around the world in special-mission roles.

Headquartered in Montréal, Québec, Bombardier operates aerostructure, assembly and completion facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The company’s robust customer support network includes facilities in strategic locations in the United States and Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the UAE, Singapore, China and an Australian facility opening in 2022.

For corporate news and information, including Bombardier’s Environmental, Social and Governance report, visit bombardier.com. Learn more about Bombardier’s industry-leading products and customer service network at businessaircraft.bombardier.com. Follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

Bombardier, Challenger, Global and Global 7500 are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

Francis Richer de La Flèche 
Vice President, Financial Planning and Investor Relations, Bombardier
+1 514 855 5001 x13228

Anna Cristofaro 
Manager, Communications 
Bombardier 
+1 514 855 867

The Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) and the Interim Consolidated Financial Statements are available at ir.bombardier.com.

bps: basis points
nmf: information not meaningful

 

  1. Non-GAAP financial measure. A non-GAAP financial measure is not a standardized financial measure under the financial reporting framework used to prepare our financial statements and might not be comparable to similar financial measures used by other issuers. Refer to the section entitled Caution regarding non-GAAP and other financial measures of this press release and to the Non-GAAP and other financial measures section, in the MD&A of the Corporation’s financial report for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 for definitions of these metrics and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.
  2. Defined as net new aircraft orders in units over aircraft deliveries in units.
  3. Non-GAAP financial ratio. A non-GAAP financial ratio is not a standardized financial measure under the financial reporting framework used to prepare our financial statements and might not be comparable to similar financial measures used by other issuers. Refer to the section entitled Caution regarding non-GAAP and other financial measures of this press release and to the Non-GAAP and other financial measures section in the MD&A of the Corporation’s financial report for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 for definitions of these metrics and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.
  4. Includes continuing operations only.  
  5. Supplementary financial measure. Refer to the section entitled Caution regarding non-GAAP and other financial measures of this press release and to the Non-GAAP and other financial measures section in the MD&A of the Corporation’s financial report for the quarter ended March 31, 2022 for definitions of these metrics.
  6. Free cash flow usage – discontinued operations for the first quarter 2021 is equal to cash flows from operating activities – discontinued operations for the same period.
  7. Represents order backlog for both manufacturing and services.

CAUTION REGARDING NON-GAAP AND OTHER FINANCIAL MEASURES 

This press release is based on reported earnings in accordance with IFRS and on the following non-GAAP and other financial measures:

Non-GAAP and other financial measures
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Adjusted EBIT EBIT excluding special items. Special items comprise items which do not reflect the Corporation’s core performance or where their separate presentation will assist users of the consolidated financial statements in understanding the Corporation’s results for the period. Such items include, among others, the impact of restructuring charges, impact of business disposals and significant impairment charges and reversals.
Adjusted EBITDA Adjusted EBIT plus amortization and impairment charges on PP&E and intangible assets.
Adjusted net income (loss) Net income (loss) excluding special items, accretion on net retirement benefit obligations, certain net gains and losses arising from changes in measurement of provisions and of financial instruments carried at FVTP&L and the related tax impacts of these items.
Free cash flow (usage) Cash flows from operating activities - continued operations less net additions to PP&E and intangible assets.
Available short-term capital resources Cash and cash equivalents, plus undrawn amounts under credit facilities.
Adjusted liquidity Cash and cash equivalents, plus certain restricted cash supporting various bank guarantees. 
Adjusted net debt Long-term debt less cash and cash equivalents less certain restricted cash supporting various bank guarantees.
Non-GAAP Financial Ratios
Adjusted EPS EPS calculated based on adjusted net income attributable to equity holders of Bombardier Inc., using the treasury stock method, giving effect to the exercise of all dilutive elements.
Adjusted EBIT margin Adjusted EBIT, as a percentage of total revenues.
Adjusted EBITDA margin Adjusted EBITDA, as a percentage of total revenues.
Adjusted net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio Adjusted net debt divided by adjusted EBITDA.
Supplementary Financial Measures
Interest paid on long term debt Interest paid comprises interest on long-term debt after the effect of hedges, if any, excluding up-front costs paid related to the negotiation of debts or credit facilities.
EBIT Margin EBIT, as a percentage of total revenues.
Gross Margin Percentage Gross margin, as a percentage of total revenues.
Net Retirement Liability Retirement benefit liability less retirement benefit assets.

Non-GAAP and other financial measures are measures mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements but are not standardized financial measures under the financial reporting framework used to prepare our financial statements. Therefore, these might not be comparable to similar Non-GAAP and other financial measures used by other issuers. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP or other financial measures does not imply that these items are necessarily non-recurring. 

Adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss)

Management uses adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) for purposes of evaluating underlying business performance. Management believes these non-GAAP earnings measures in addition to IFRS measures provide users of our Financial Report with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases the transparency and clarity of the core results of our business. Adjusted EBIT, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net income (loss) exclude items that do not reflect our core performance or where their exclusion will assist users in understanding our results for the period. For these reasons, a significant number of users of the MD&A analyze our results based on these financial measures. Management believes these measures help users of the MD&A to better analyze results, enabling better comparability of our results from one period to another and with peers. 

Adjusted EPS, adjusted EBIT margin and adjusted EBITDA margin

Management uses adjusted EPS, adjusted EBIT margin and adjusted EBITDA margin for purposes of evaluating underlying business performance. Management believes these non-GAAP financial ratios in addition to IFRS measures provide users of our Financial Report with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases the transparency and clarity of the core results of our business. Adjusted EPS, adjusted EBIT margin and adjusted EBITDA margin exclude items that do not reflect our core performance or where their exclusion will assist users in understanding our results for the period. For these reasons, a significant number of users of the MD&A analyze our results based on these financial measures. Management believes these measures help users of the MD&A to better analyze results, enabling better comparability of our results from one period to another and with peers.

Free cash flow (usage)  

Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities - continued operations less net additions to PP&E and intangible assets. Management believes that this non-GAAP cash flow measure provides investors with an important perspective on the Corporation’s generation of cash available for shareholders, debt repayment, and acquisitions after making the capital investments required to support ongoing business operations and long-term value creation. This non-GAAP cash flow measure does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures as it excludes certain mandatory expenditures such as repayment of maturing debt. Management uses free cash flow as a measure to assess both business performance and overall liquidity generation. 

Adjusted liquidity

Adjusted liquidity is defined as cash and cash equivalents, plus certain restricted cash supporting various bank guarantees. Management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure is a useful measure because it includes items in its results that management believes is a better reflection of the company’s liquidity. This measure does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

Reconciliations to most comparable IFRS measures (PDF)

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which may involve, but are not limited to: statements with respect to our objectives, anticipations and outlook or guidance in respect of various financial and global metrics and sources of contribution thereto, targets, goals, priorities, market and strategies, financial position, financial performance, market position, capabilities, competitive strengths, credit ratings, beliefs, prospects, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions; general economic and business outlook, prospects and trends of an industry; customer value; expected demand for products and services; growth strategy; product development, including projected design, characteristics, capacity or performance; expected or scheduled entry-into-service of products and services, orders, deliveries, testing, lead times, certifications and execution of orders in general; competitive position; expectations regarding revenue and backlog mix; the expected impact of the legislative and regulatory environment and legal proceedings; strength of capital profile and balance sheet, creditworthiness, available liquidities and capital resources, expected financial requirements, and ongoing review of strategic and financial alternatives; the introduction of, productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, cost reduction and restructuring initiatives, and anticipated costs, intended benefits and timing thereof; the anticipated business transition to growth cycle and cash generation; expectations, objectives and strategies regarding debt repayment, refinancing of maturities and interest cost reduction; expectations regarding the availability of government assistance programs, compliance with restrictive debt covenants; expectations regarding the declaration and payment of dividends on our preferred shares; intentions and objectives for our programs, assets and operations; the impact of both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia on the foregoing and the effectiveness of plans and measures we have implemented in response thereto; and expectations regarding the strength of the market and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “shall”, “can”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “foresee”, “believe”, “continue”, “maintain” or “align”, the negative of these terms, variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of our current objectives, strategic priorities, expectations, outlook and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of our business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecast results set forth in forward-looking statements. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable and appropriate based on information currently available, there is risk that they may not be accurate. The assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release include the following material assumptions: growth of the business aviation market and the Corporation’s share of such market; proper identification of recurring cost savings and executing on our cost reduction plan; optimization of our real estate portfolio, including through the sale or other transaction in respect of real estate assets on favorable terms; and access to working capital facilities on market terms. For additional information, including with respect to other assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release, refer to the Forward-looking statements – Assumptions section in the MD&A of our financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Given the impact of the changing circumstances surrounding both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, including because of the emergence of COVID-19 variants and the imposition of financial and economic sanctions and export control limitations, and the related response from the Corporation, governments (federal, provincial and municipal, both domestic, foreign and multinational inter-governmental organizations), regulatory authorities, businesses, suppliers, customers, counterparties and third-party service providers, there is inherently more uncertainty associated with the Corporation’s assumptions as compared to prior periods.

Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks associated with general economic conditions, risks associated with our business environment (such as risks associated with the financial condition of business aircraft customers; trade policy; financial and economic sanctions and export control limitations; increased competition; political instability; global climate change; and force majeure events); operational risks (such as risks related to developing new products and services; development of new business; order backlog; the certification of products and services; the execution of orders; pressures on cash flows and capital expenditures based on seasonality and cyclicality; execution of our strategy, productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; doing business with partners; product performance warranty and casualty claim losses; regulatory and legal proceedings; environmental, health and safety risks; dependence on certain customers, contracts and suppliers; supply chain risks; human resources including the global availability of a skilled workforce; reliance on information systems; reliance on and protection of intellectual property rights; reputation risks; risk management; tax matters; and adequacy of insurance coverage), financing risks (such as risks related to liquidity and access to capital markets; retirement benefit plan risk; exposure to credit risk; substantial debt and interest payment requirements; restrictive debt covenants; reliance on debt management and interest cost reduction strategies; and reliance on government support),; market risks (such as foreign currency fluctuations; changing interest rates; increases in commodity prices; and inflation rate fluctuations); technology, privacy, cyber security and reputational risks; and other unforeseen adverse events. For more details, see the Risks and uncertainties section in Other in the MD&A of our financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Any one or more of the foregoing factors may be exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and may have a significantly more severe impact on the Corporation’s business, results of operations and financial condition than in the absence of such events.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future growth, results and performance is not exhaustive and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently believe are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth herein reflect management’s expectations as at the date of this press release and are subject to change after such date. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we expressly disclaim any intention, and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.