Globeal Express XRS interier business jet from Bombardier.
The long sales drought for Bombardier Inc. 's new C Series jet is over and senior executives say momentum is with the company as it ratchets up efforts to win over more customers.
Montreal-based Bombardier finally clinched another order - albeit modest - for the C Series on Wednesday and the announcement, together with better-than-expected first-quarter results, helped boost the company's shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
The aerospace and rail giant said it has sold 10 models of the fuel-efficient, narrow-body jet to Sweden's Braathens Aviation, the first order for the plane it has received since February of 2010.
The deal is valued at $665-million (U.S.) and could rise to $1.37-billion if 10 options the customer took are converted to firm orders.
It's a much-needed order for Bombardier, which had faced increasing talk from industry players and analysts that the C Series was proving to be a hard sell.
"We expect this order announcement to provide a sense of relief to investors, lend greater credibility to the program, and potentially trigger more customer interest going forward," UBS analyst Tasneem Azim said in a research note Wednesday.
The Swedish order brings the total number of orders for the C Series to 100, from four customers.
Positioned in the 100- to 149-seat segment, the plane is slated to enter service in 2013, where it will bump up against the space dominated by Airbus SAS and Boeing Co.
Expectations have been running high that Bombardier will announce a major customer at the Paris Air Show later this month.
Bombardier Aerospace president Guy Hachey brushed aside recent comments by rivals, including Embraer SA and Airbus, that the C Series program won't take off for a variety of reasons, including the plane being too heavy.
"The fact that they're talking about [the plane]means they're worried," Mr. Hachey said Wednesday after the company's annual meeting.
In fact, the C Series is 12,000 pounds lighter than Airbus's re-engined A319, a direct competitor to Bombardier's new jet, he said.
"From an investor standpoint, from a market standpoint, we're very satisfied where we are with the order intake at this point," he said, adding that Bombardier expects a large number of smaller orders rather than a batch of big, blockbuster orders.
"We're really diversifying the customer base," he said on a conference call Wednesday.
Bombardier says the C Series will provide 20-per-cent better fuel economy than rival planes in the segment.
"A successful airplane program has geographic distribution with many customers," Bombardier president and chief executive officer Pierre Beaudoin told reporters.
Mr. Hachey said there are advanced talks continuing with about 10 potential customers.
Also Wednesday, Bombardier said it booked profit of $220-million or 12 cents a share in the first quarter, compared with $195-million or 11 cents in the same period last year. The per-share profit beat analysts' estimates of 9 cents.
Revenue reached $4.7-billion, up 9 per cent from $4.3-billion.
Mr. Beaudoin told shareholders that the "cloud of uncertainty hanging over civil aviation is lifting, with a substantial increase in our orders for business jets in the last quarter."
BOMBARDIER INC. (BBD.B)
Close: $6.95, up 20 cents
Bertrand Marotte