São Paulo – Embraer had operating loss of R$ 171.6 million (US$ 94.1 million at current exchange rates) in the fourth quarter of 2011, but profit of R$ 156.3 million (US$ 85.7 million) in the accumulated result for the year, according to the organisation’s figures, disclosed on Wednesday (21). In 2010, the company’s net profit was R$ 573.6 million (US$ 314 million). The drop in profit attributed to shareholders in 2011 was 72.7% over 2010. In a teleconference, the company’s Financial and Investor Relations vice president, Paulo Penido Pinto Marques, said that the 2011 results were affected by provisions the company made to cover future expenses with renegotiations of American Airlines debt. The greater expenses with the pay sheet also reduced profit.
In 2011, Embraer delivered 105 commercial and 99 executive jets and obtained revenues of R$ 9.858 billion (US$ 5.4 billion). In comparison with 2010, revenues dropped 5.1%. The company’s firm order backlog reached R$ 15.4 billion (US$ 8.4 billion), a little under the R$ 15.6 billion (US$ 8.6 billion) in 2010. In 2011, however, the Brazilian aircraft maker delivered 204 aircraft. In 2010, deliveries reached 246 aircraft.
According to Marques, American Airlines operates 216 financed ERJ-145. In the balance sheet, Embraer said it “made provisions of R$ 583.2 million (US$ 320 million)” in the fourth quarter to face possible expenses related to “the financial guarantees and residual value issued when these 216 aircraft were financed.” Were it not for the extra expenses, said Paulo, the company would have registered greater profit and would have delivered greater than forecasted profit to shareholders. The North American company is living a restructuring process, having filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.
He said that, despite these extra expenses, the company’s financial health should not be affected. The executive added that in the average loan maturity is 4.8 years and that company has US$ 2.1 billion in the till. Debt is US$ 1.7 billion. “Our financial situation is very comfortable.” Marques forecasts that the 2011 performance should be maintained in 2012.
“The correlation between growth of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and air traffic is closely related. We have been seeing the first positive signs in the United States, and Europe is not getting worse. We know about company needs to adapt their fleets to the correct demand, which has resulted in significant demand for our aircraft. We notice the market remaining at the same levels and even expect our product to grow a little,” he said.
No region answered to a great share of orders in 2011: North America purchased 20% of the jets, Brazil, 17%, Europe, 25%, and the Asia-Pacific region, 23%. Other countries in Latin America purchased 8%. Among the sectors it operates in, the company obtains 53.1% of revenues in commercial aviation, 14.5% in the defence and security sector and 29.9% in executive aviation.
Supertucano
During the teleconference, Marques said that Embraer plans to participate in a new tender for aircraft purchases by the United States Air Force. In December, the company won a US$ 355 tender to supply 20 Supertucano aircraft to the North Americans. However, the tender was suspended after competitor Hawker Beechcraft filed a complaint. “The information we have is that the process should be restarted and we will evaluate whether or not to participate. We are confident in the aircraft’s performance.”
*Translated by Mark Ament
