Flagging Deliveries, Supply Chain Delays, and Termination of Afghanistan Contracts Take Toll

Textron reported its 4th quarter income for 2021, down a bit from 2020, but overall looking quite good going forward, according to chairman of the board and CEO Scott C. Donnelly. 

“2021 was a solid year for Textron with strong order flow and execution at Aviation, continued progress on Future Vertical Lift programs at Bell, strong execution and margin performance at Systems, and higher revenues and operating profit at Industrial,” said Donnelly. 

Textron's Aviation arm saw the delivery of 46 jets in 2021, down from 61 the year before. Its turboprop deliveries flagged in similar fashion, dropping to 43 from 61 the year before. Lower volumes are said to be the result of supply chain problems and the enduring shortage of chipsets. The aviation backlog remains just over $4 billion, and revenues were down $201 million compared to the same span in 2020, which were partially offset by higher aftermarket volume. 

Bell revenues dropped $13 million from the year before, said to be the result of lowering military revenue partially offset by a rise in commercial sales. The company met similar delivery metrics as 2020, delivering 59 commercial helicopters over 57 before. Their backlog stands similar to the fixed wing arm at $3.9 billion. Notably, the company noted the disruption of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan, which terminated Textron Systems' fee-for-service contracts maintaining equipment in the region. 

FMI: www.textron.com