Embraer predicts it will deliver 90 commercial aircraft in 2010, continuing a downward trend that saw the Brazilian airframer deliver 122 airliners in 2009 and 162 in the year prior.
However, the company says it is seeing some signs of "mild" recovery in the sector, and expects orders in 2010 to surpass 2009.
"We can see some light at the end of the tunnel," Embraer said today during an earnings conference call to discuss its 36% drop in fiscal full-year 2009 net profit to $248.5 million. Embraer's fiscal year coincides with the calendar year that runs from 1 January to 31 December.
The global economic crisis dramatically impacted new aircraft orders for the 12-month period.
ATI sister publication Flight International last month reported that Embraer's overall tally suffered as it lost existing orders for 25 ERJ-145s from China and 30 E-195s - 10 from defunct Italian carrier Alpi Eagles and 20 from Brazil's bankrupt regional BRA.
Although the E-190 garnered 10 net orders, cancellations for the E-170 exactly offset new orders for that model and its bigger sister the E-175, meaning that the combined E-Jet family ended the year down a net 14 orders. So Embraer's full-year net tally was a disappointing minus 39 orders, reported Flight.
Embraer in its earnings report today said new orders "were frozen" during most of 2009, but it claims it secured a total 23 new orders by year-end.
Citing "some positive signs, such as improvements in global economic activities and some positive performance indicators coming out from the airline industry", Embraer suggests that there may be some "mild recovery in the following quarters, which would lead to a higher number of new orders in 2010 when compared to 2009 numbers".
The company hopes to deliver a total 227 aircraft this year, of which 137 will be from the executive aviation segment and the remaining 90 from the commercial segment.
Commercial deliveries in 2009, which totalled 122, accounted for 61.6% of overall revenues versus 67% in 2008.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
