In its third-quarter earnings call Friday, Embraer said that despite posting a loss for the quarter, it expects 2021 to be the company’s first profitable year since 2017, beating its own expectations.
The $45 million, third-quarter loss the company reported is a stark improvement year-to-date, compared to the $121 million loss reported for the third quarter of 2020.
Company officers said the improvement was because of a combination of better sales activity in both the business and commercial aviation business units. They expect their fourth quarter to follow seasonal patterns of higher deliveries and revenues, leading to a profitable fourth quarter.
Embraer believes it could end the year with a breakeven free cash flow of $150 million to close out the year. The company projects that it will finish the fourth quarter with total cash of $2.5 billion and overall debt of $1.8 billion.
“We are very happy that only one year after the worst downturn in aerospace history, Embraer will generate positive free cash flow,” Embraer CFO Antonio Carlos Garcia said.
Share price was up 6 percent early Friday, as analysts appeared satisfied with the company’s 26 percent improvement in revenue, and its backlog worth $16.8 billion—its most valuable since the fourth quarter of 2019.
Segment Highlights
Embraer delivered nine commercial jets and 21 executive jets (14 light and seven large) this quarter. That brought the year-to-date deliveries to 32 commercial jets and 54 executive jets (36 light and 18 large).
By year’s end, the company expects numbers to grow to 45 to 50 commercial aircraft and 90 to 95 business aircraft, which would generate between $4 billion and $4.5 billion in revenue.
Commercial aviation: SkyWest Airlines ordered 16 new E175s from Embraer that it will fly for Delta Connection, the regional brand of Delta Air Lines.
Along with the 193 E175s they already have in fleet and another 29 on order, these 16 new E175s, once delivered, will push SkyWest’s total to nearly 240 E175s, more than any other airline in the world.
The E190-E2, which gained EASA certification for Steep Approach operations into London City Airport (EGLC), began operations there via Helvetic Airways. With the jet’s 2,160-nm (4,000-km) range, new city pairs are sure to follow.
Business aviation: Most notably in the executive sector was the delivery of their 1,500th business jet, a Phenom 300E, to the Swiss charter operator Haute Aviation on September 3. Embraer reached the 1,500-jet milestone in just 20 years.
Military aviation: Through its partnership with the Sierra Nevada Corporation, through September a total of 10 aircraft had been delivered to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF), boosting their defense and security segment, which accounted for 17 percent of net revenue year to date.
Sustainable initiatives: The company also reported taking its first shipment of sustainable aviation fuel from AvFuel for its operation in Melbourne, Florida.
