Robust sales of the Praetor 600 business jet resulted in the strongest nine-month order intake for Embraer’s Executive Jets division for five years.
Robust sales of the Praetor 600 business jet resulted in the strongest nine-month order intake for Embraer’s Executive Jets division for five years.
The super-midsize twin, which entered service at the end of June, is also single-handledly responsible for the eight-unit hike in deliveries for the division between 1 January and 30 September. A further seven units are scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter, putting the Brazilian airframer on track to meet its 2019 delivery guidance of between 90 and 110 business jets.
Embraer
Speaking during an earnings call with analysts on 12 November, Nelson Salgado, Embraer’s executive vice-president of financial and investor relations, describes the Praetor 600 as “a big success”, with customer interest in the aircraft “very high”.
“It’s been a very big year for us in terms of business jet sales,” says Salgado, pointing to a $1.4 billion order from long-time customer Flexjet as a highlight of period. “This was a very important result for Embraer,” he says.
The deal, placed in the third quarter but announced in October, is for 64 Phenom 300Es, Praetor 500s and 600s. Flexjet is the launch customer for the Praetor 500 and will take delivery of the first example in November. The contract also includes the conversion of Flexjet’s 30 Legacy 450s to the Praetor 500 configuration.
Embraer’s business jet output for the nine months ended 30 September includes seven Phenom 100EVs, 35 Phenom 300Es, a pair of Legacy 650s, five Legacy 450s and six Legacy 500s. This compares with 40 Phenoms and 15 Legacys delivered during the same period last year.
The strong output contributed to a $130 million climb in revenues to $777 million between January and September. Third-quarter revenues rose by $51 million to $363 million.
