New Products Push Order Numbers Into Stratosphere

Cessna is enjoying an enviable business position, even for a booming industry -- it's completely sold out for 2007.

The company has broken its own backlog record with $8.5 billion worth of orders on the books. That's a 35 percent increase over a year ago.

And it's not because it hasn't been delivering -- Cessna delivered 1,239 aircraft in 2006, almost half coming in the last quarter. The biggest increases came in Cessna's bizjet segment; the company delivered 91 jets in the fourth quarter compared to 69 the year prior.

CEO of Cessna parent Textron Inc. Lewis Campbell says its the company's new products that are driving the push for new orders. He told the Wichita Eagle, "New products at Cessna are generating extraordinary customer interest."

He says Cessna plans to deliver 375 aircraft in 2007, and it already has orders for 350 in 2008.

Campbell believes the market for new planes is very robust and that Cessna has the right products to remain ahead of the power curve.

The company's fourth-quarter revenue reached $1.23 billion last year -- a $265 million increase over the year before -- bringing the year's total to $4.16 billion, up from $3.48 billion in 2005. Cessna says the growth comes mainly on the strength of Citation bizjet sales and favorable pricing. Profits for the year topped $645 million, a 41 percent boost from 2005.

The US aerospace industry as a whole had a very good year in 2006, and industry analysts predict several more years of solid growth. Cessna hopes to continue to lead the charge.

FMI: www.cessna.com