Bombardier Announces Preliminary Results for the First Quarter 2021

MONTRÉAL, May 03, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier (TSX: BBD.B) today announced preliminary financial results and select operating metrics for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

First Quarter 2021 Preliminary Results and Select Operating Metrics

• Business jet revenues are expected to be $1.3 billion, an increase of 18% year-over-year.
• EBIT and adjusted EBITDA⁽¹⁾ from continuing operations are expected to be $19 million and $123 million, respectively.
• Free cash flow usage⁽¹⁾ from continuing operations is expected to be $405 million including ~$100 million of non-recurring cash items⁽²⁾. Cash flows from operating activities (continuing operations) expected to be $372 million and net additions to PP&E and intangible assets (continuing operations) expected to be $33 million.
• Expected pro-forma liquidity⁽³⁾ of $2.6 billion remaining after ~$2.4 billion expected to be deployed toward balance sheet deleveraging year-to-date.
• Business aircraft deliveries for the first quarter expected to be 26 units.
• Remains on track to deliver an expected 110-120 business aircrafts in 2021⁽⁴⁾.
  

"The preliminary financial results we are sharing today validate the actions we have taken to reposition our business and reflect the progress we are making on our strategic priorities,” said Éric Martel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bombardier. "The first quarter was a strong start to the year, with our cost reduction initiatives beginning to contribute to the bottom line, continued progress of our Global 7500 learning curve and robust demand supporting significant year-over-year margin expansion. Looking ahead, our markets are continuing to show signs of improvement and our plans and financial performance for the year remain on track.”

The preliminary financial results and selected operating metrics included in this press release are based on information available as of May 3, 2021, and management's initial review of operations for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021. As previously announced, the Corporation will disclose its final financial results on May 6, 2021.

Consent Solicitation
In a separate press release, Bombardier announced that it has launched consent solicitations with respect to its outstanding senior notes or debentures (with respect to any individual series, a "Consent Solicitation” and collectively, the "Consent Solicitations”). On April 22, 2021, Bombardier received a letter from counsel to a holder of 2034 Notes, claiming that the Corporation breached certain covenants under the indenture governing the 2034 Notes. The Corporation believes that these allegations are without merit and that the Corporation has not breached any covenant under the indenture. With the assistance of external advisors, the Corporation evaluated a range of options and determined that initiating the Consent Solicitations is the most expedient and efficient path to maintain value and protect the Corporation and its stakeholders.

Quarterly Conference Call
As previously announced, on May 6, 2021, at 8:00 a.m. EDT, Bombardier will hold a webcast/conference call intended for investors and financial analysts to review the Corporation’s financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.

A live webcast of the call and relevant financial charts will be available at https://ir.bombardier.com.
Stakeholders wishing to listen to the presentation and subsequent question-and-answer period by telephone may dial one of the following conference call numbers:

About Bombardier
Bombardier is a global leader in aviation, creating innovative and game-changing planes. Our products and services provide world-class experiences that set new standards in passenger comfort, energy efficiency, reliability and safety.

Headquartered in Montréal, Canada, Bombardier is present in more than 12 countries including its production/engineering sites and its customer support network. The Corporation supports a worldwide fleet of approximately 4,900 aircraft in service with a wide variety of multinational corporations, charter and fractional ownership providers, governments and private individuals.

News and information is available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.

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

For information

CAUTION REGARDING NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

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

Non-GAAP financial measures are mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements but do not have standardized meanings prescribed by IFRS. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP performance measures does not imply that these items are necessarily non-recurring. Other entities in our industry may define the above measures differently than we do. In those cases, it may be difficult to compare the performance of those entities to ours based on these similarly-named non-GAAP measures.

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

Free cash flow (usage)
Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities 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.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures are provided in the table hereafter, except for the following reconciliation:

• free cash flow usage to cash flows from operating activities, which is provided above.
  

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 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; and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the foregoing and the effectiveness of plans and measures we have implemented in response thereto; and expectations regarding gradual 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: the deployment of the proceeds from the sale of the Transportation business to Alstom on terms allowing the Corporation, when combined to other financing sources and free cash flow generation, to repay or otherwise manage its various maturities for the next three years; growth of the business aviation market and increase of 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. Given the impact of the changing circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the related response from the Corporation, governments (federal, provincial and municipal), 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 years.

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; increased competition; political instability and force majeure events or global climate change), operational risks (such as risks related to developing new products and services; development of new business; order backlog; the transition to a pure-play business aviation company; 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; 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). Any one or more of the foregoing factors may be exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak 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 outbreak. As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks related to the impact and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on economic conditions and financial markets and the resulting impact on our business, operations, capital resources, liquidity, financial condition, margins, prospects and results; uncertainty regarding the magnitude and length of economic disruption as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the resulting effects on the demand environment for our products and services; uncertainty regarding market and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic; emergency measures and restrictions imposed by public health authorities or governments, fiscal and monetary policy responses by governments and financial institutions; disruptions to global supply chain, customers, workforce, counterparties and third-party service providers; further disruptions to operations, orders and deliveries; technology, privacy, cyber security and reputational risks; and other unforeseen adverse 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.