Call me skeptical, but it appears that Bombardier, Inc. (TSX: BBD.B), a company I thought could very well continue its venture deeper into the hole, might actually be turning around successfully. I’m not completely on the Bombardier train yet, but if things continue the way they are, that might change.
The reason I believe this is because the company has had good news after good news.
First, let’s get a taste of bad news. The company went into the Farnborough International Airshow expecting to make some deals. Investors were expecting that too. Unfortunately, the company walked out without any commitments. For investors who remember the Paris Air Show, this might leave a sour taste in their mouths.
But there are a few reasons why this isn’t the worst news in the world. Firstly, when we’re talking about billion dollar orders, it might take a little longer to iron out the details. Therefore, while a deal wasn’t announced, one could still be in the works. Secondly, Bombardier didn’t go into the Farnborough show as desperate as it was in Paris; that means it didn’t need to cut its pricing.
With the bad news out of the way, here is the recent good news.
Bombardier has officially passed the 300-airplane mark that it had set for itself. A lot of those orders came in recently. The big announcement came in February when Air Canada made the first big purchase for Bombardier. It agreed to buy 45 CSeries jets. Once a large airline signs up, it gets the others interested in the product.
From there, Delta Air Lines came in and bought 75 CSeries jets. While this deal likely won’t provide much in the realm of profit–some analysts predict that Bombardier had to cut its price by 75% to make the deal–it still gave the company guaranteed orders, which it needed for legitimacy. Air Baltic firmed up its order for seven CSeries jets, increasing the revenue Bombardier should book.
In April Chorus Aviation Inc. signed a purchase order for five CRJ900 regional jets. It also has the right to buy five more. Trident Jet Ltd. also agreed to buy four CRJ900 aircraft for $184 million. Finally, Porter Airlines agreed to buy three Q400 turboprops (surprisingly comfortable to fly in, I might add) worth $93 million. This follows an agreement in June for WestJet Airlines Ltd to buy nine.
The final bit of good news is that Bombardier received Type Certification by Transport Canada for its CS300. Because of this, it expects to deliver the first CS300 airline to Air Baltic in the fourth quarter of 2016. As I have continuously said, Bombardier becomes a much more appealing stock to own when it exchanges planes for cash and it appears we’re getting close to that point.
So, should you buy Bombardier?
Bombardier isn’t out of the gutter yet, though it is certainly on the upward trajectory. Until we see planes get delivered and learn the true revenue per plane, we won’t know how cheap Bombardier had to price the planes to sell them. So while it is certainly moving up, I’m still going to wait on the sidelines and watch. Call me cautious, but Bombardier has been through a lot.
