Aviation News
CESSNA REPORTS STRONG BUSINESS RESULTS; DEBUTS THREE NEW BUSINESS JETS AT NBAA
Orlando, Fla. , November 8, 2005 – Cessna Aircraft Company, the world’s leading manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and a subsidiary of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT), said today it has fully recovered from the effects of the industry downturn following the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, and is reporting strong order activity across its entire product line.
According to Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack Pelton, “While this outstanding order activity at Cessna reflects the general strength in the business jet market and the effectiveness of our new product strategy, it also reflects Cessna’s dedication to superior customer service.” Last month, Professional Pilot Magazine announced that Cessna achieved the number one rating in the publication’s annual customer support survey.
Pelton said the company’s backlog is now in excess of $6 billion, the level prior to the industry downturn following Sept. 11, 2001. “We expect to deliver 240-245 jets this year, along with more than 850 single engine aircraft. And next year is shaping up even better,” he said.
For the first time at an NBAA show, Cessna is displaying its newly certified Citation CJ1+ and Citation CJ2+, along with the Citation Mustang, which is currently in flight test and due for certification in the fourth quarter of next year.
Also at this year’s show, the company announced the newest addition to its product line, the Encore+, as the successor to Citation Encore. The Encore+ offers increased efficiency, a new integrated avionics suite, increased payload capability, and improved cabin lighting. Deliveries of the Encore+ are scheduled to begin in February 2007.
Pelton said the company experienced several major milestones in 2005 in the single engine sector, as well. “As of this year, we delivered our 6,000th single engine aircraft since the return to single-engine production in 1996; we’ve trained more than 1,000 customers on the new Garmin G1000 avionics suite; and we’ve added XM WX Satellite Weather™ in all NAV III-equipped airplanes. In the turboprop sector, we celebrated delivery of the 1,500th Caravan,” he said.
“We are proud to see these new chapters added to our 78-year history, and we see an exciting future for Cessna in both the jet and single-engine sectors,” he said.
With more than 165,000 single engine piston airplanes manufactured by Cessna throughout its history, Cessna has the largest fleet of such aircraft in the world.
Pelton said the company is committed to maintaining its leadership in the single-engine piston sector. “We have been conducting market studies and assessing new technologies to ensure our next generation piston family is responsive to market requirements and provides significant improvements in safety, performance, comfort and economics. We are currently in the process of listening to what our stakeholders have to say about our possible designs,” he said.
To date, no decisions have been made regarding configuration, specifications or timetable. “We plan to make an announcement once those decisions are made,” Pelton said.
Based on unit sales, Cessna is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation aircraft. In 2004, Cessna delivered more than 900 aircraft and reported revenues of approximately $2.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 180,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 4,000 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com . Cessna Aircraft Company is a subsidiary of Textron (TXT), a $10 billion, multi-industry company with 44,000 employees in 40 countries.
Forward-looking Information: Certain statements in this report and other oral and written statements made by Textron from time to time are forward-looking statements, including those that discuss strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; or project revenues, income, returns or other financial measures. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including the following: [a] the extent to which Textron is able to achieve savings from its restructuring plans; [b] uncertainty in estimating the amount and timing of restructuring charges and related costs; [c] changes in worldwide economic and political conditions that impact interest and foreign exchange rates; [d] the interruption of production at Textron facilities or Textron's customers or suppliers; [e] Textron's ability to perform as anticipated and to control costs under contracts with the U.S. Government; [f] the U.S. Government's ability to unilaterally modify or terminate its contracts with Textron for the Government's convenience or for Textron's failure to perform, to change applicable procurement and accounting policies, and, under certain circumstances, to suspend or debar Textron as a contractor eligible to receive future contract awards; [g] changes in national or international funding priorities and government policies on the export and import of military and commercial products; [h] the adequacy of cost estimates for various customer care programs including servicing warranties; [i] the ability to control costs and successful implementation of various cost reduction programs; [j] the timing of certifications of new aircraft products; [k] the occurrence of slowdowns or downturns in customer markets in which Textron products are sold or supplied or where Textron Financial offers financing; [l] changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellation of orders; [m] the impact of changes in tax legislation; [n] the extent to which Textron is able to pass raw material price increases through to customers or offset such price increases by reducing other costs; [o]Textron's ability to offset, through cost reductions, pricing pressure brought by original equipment manufacturer customers; [p] Textron's ability to realize full value of receivables and investments in securities; [q] the availability and cost of insurance; [r] increases in pension expenses related to lower than expected asset performance or changes in discount rates; [s] Textron Financial's ability to maintain portfolio credit quality; [t] Textron Financial's access to debt financing at competitive rates; [u] uncertainty in estimating contingent liabilities and establishing reserves to address such contingencies; [v] performance of acquisitions; [w] the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products; and [x] bankruptcy or other financial problems at major suppliers or customers that could cause disruptions in Textron's supply chain or difficulty in collecting amounts owed by such customers. s
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