Textron Inc., Bell Helicopter’s parent company, released its first quarter results this morning, and while the group’s overall revenue was up 7.9 percent (from $2.8 billion to $3.1 billion), diminishing V-22 deliveries resulted in $60 million less revenue for Bell than the first quarter of 2014.
“Revenues at Textron Aviation and Industrial were up during the quarter, while revenues at Bell and Textron Systems were down, as we expected,” said Textron chairman and CEO Scott C. Donnelly. “While we expected military deliveries would be down at Bell this year, the medium segment of the commercial helicopter market remains soft. As a result, we are adjusting production levels and taking additional cost actions to allow Bell to perform within its targeted 2015 segment margin range of 11 to 12 percent.”
Bell delivered six V-22s and four H-1s in the quarter, compared to eight V-22s and five H-1s in last year’s first quarter, and 35 commercial helicopters, compared to 34 units last year.
The company said segment profit decreased $20 million, primarily due to the lower volumes and an unfavorable mix of commercial aircraft deliveries.
Bell’s backlog at the end of the first quarter was $5.3 billion, down $237 million from the end of the fourth quarter.
