2002 Was A Better Year 

Do you like facts and figures? Well, we've got the whole scoop on Textron's earnings, as reported by the company this week.

On Wednesday, Textron reported its fourth quarter 2003 income from continuing operations of $83 million or $0.60 per share, compared to fourth quarter 2002 income from continuing operations of $110 million or $0.80 per share.

Including discontinued operations, fourth quarter 2003 net income was $83 million or $0.60 per share, compared with the fourth quarter 2002 net income of $131 million or $0.95 per share.

Full-year 2003 income from continuing operations was $281 million or $2.05 per share, compared to $367 million or $2.62 per share for the full-year 2002. Including discontinued operations and the cumulative effect of a change in accounting principle, full-year 2003 net income was $259 million or $1.89 per share, compared to a net loss of $124 million or a loss of $0.88 per share for full-year 2002.

Full-year 2003 revenues were $9.9 billion, down from $10.4 billion in 2002, reflecting lower sales volume of Citation business jets at Cessna, partially offset by higher revenues in the Bell, Fastening Systems and Industrial segments.

"The benefits from our transformation initiatives during the year enabled us to significantly offset the impact of a decline in business jet deliveries," said Lewis B. Campbell, Textron chairman, president and CEO.

Textron expects full-year 2004 revenues will be down slightly, while earnings per share from continuing operations will be between $2.85 and $3.05, up from $2.78 in 2003. First quarter earnings per share will be between $0.43 and $0.53. These estimates exclude restructuring costs and other special items. The company expects full-year 2004 cash flow from operations will be between $650 million and $700 million, resulting in free cash flow before restructuring between $450 million and $500 million.

"We expect a temporary decline in revenues in our aircraft segments this year and only a modest recovery in our other manufacturing markets. However, we expect the benefits of our transformation initiatives will result in earnings growth and solid cash flow," Campbell added.

Bell segment revenues and profit increased $50 million and $2 million, respectively.

Revenues increased due to higher revenues in both the U.S. Government and commercial markets. U.S. Government revenues increased primarily due to higher revenues from the V-22 program, higher sales of training helicopters and higher spare parts and service sales. Commercial revenues increased primarily due to higher sales of new and used aircraft and higher sales of aircraft engines, partially offset by lower spare parts and service sales.

Segment profit increased only slightly as higher volumes were partially offset by an unfavorable mix, primarily lower commercial spare parts and service sales.

Backlog at Bell Helicopter of $1.4 billion was up from the third quarter by $227 million.

Cessna segment revenues and profit decreased $276 million and $51 million, respectively.

Revenues decreased primarily due to lower sales volume of Citation business jets and used aircraft, partially offset by higher pricing and higher spare parts and service sales. Profit decreased primarily due to the lower sales volume, an unfavorable mix and inflation, partially offset by improved cost performance, a lower net write-down for used aircraft valuations and higher pricing.

FMI:  www.textron.com