Textron reports profit, revenue increases in first quarter

TEXTRON INC. reported increases in profit and revenue in the first quarter, again fueled by the acquisition of planemaker Beechcraft last year.
TEXTRON INC. reported increases in profit and revenue in the first quarter, again fueled by the acquisition of planemaker Beechcraft last year.

PROVIDENCE – Textron Inc. reported increases in profit and revenue in the first quarter, again fueled by the acquisition of planemaker Beechcraft last year.
For the quarter that ended April 4, Textron reported $128 million in profit, or 46 cents per share, a 51 percent increase over $85 million, or 30 cents per share, reported in the first quarter of 2014.
Revenue was $3.1 billion, an increase of 7.9 percent compared with $2.8 billion during the year-ago period for the manufacturer. Operating profit – which was arrived at by combining the each of the company’s five operating segments – was $259 million, an increase of $40 million, or 18.3 percent, from the first quarter of 2014.
Textron Aviation led segment profit at $67 million compared with $14 million a year ago. The company said the increase is mainly due to improved performance, reflecting the impact of the Beechcraft acquisition, as well as higher volumes.
Bell helicopter profit decreased $20 million to $76 million, which the company blamed on “lower volumes and an unfavorable mix of commercial aircraft deliveries.”
Textron Systems profit fell $11 million to $28 million, but the Industrial segment rose $16 million to $82 million.
“Revenues at Textron Aviation and Industrial were up during the quarter, while revenues at Bell and Textron Systems were down, as we expected,” Textron Chairman and CEO Scott C. Donnelly said in a statement. “Operationally, we achieved significant margin improvements at Textron Aviation and Industrial, reflecting strong performance in these segments.”
“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,” he added.
Textron confirmed its 2015 earnings per share from continuing operations guidance of $2.30 to $2.50 and its expectation for cash flow from continuing operations of the manufacturing group before pension contributions of $550 million to $650 million with planned pension contributions of about $80 million.

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