New Flyer receives 711 bus orders in Q4 2009New Flyer receives 711 bus orders in Q4 2009
2010-01-15 18:37 ET - News Release
Mr. Glenn Asham reports
NEW FLYER ANNOUNCES FOURTH QUARTER 2009 ORDERS AND BACKLOG AND RECENT AWARD OF CONTRACT
New Flyer Industries Inc.'s total order activity during the fourth quarter of 2009 totalled 711 buses (753 equivalent production units or EUs) for a total of $308-million. This total order activity consisted of new firm and new option orders of 506 buses (531 EUs) and exercised options of 205 buses (222 EUs). All dollar amounts in this release are in U.S. dollars.
These orders are from both current and new customers and are for a variety of vehicle configurations and propulsion systems, including 35-, 40- and 60-foot buses with clean diesel, diesel-electric hybrid, gasoline-electric hybrid and compressed natural gas (CNG) propulsion systems. Approximately 20 per cent of the EUs representing these orders (or 141 EUs) are clean-propulsion (hybrid or natural gas) vehicles.
Some of the larger order activity during the quarter included:
- Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT) has awarded New Flyer a contract for 20 firm buses with up to 387 option buses. During the quarter, CDOT exercised 48 of these options. The total order includes diesels and hybrids of various lengths.
- Detroit Department of Transportation has exercised options to purchase 50 40-foot diesel buses.
- VIA in San Antonio, Tex., has exercised options to purchase 27 40-foot diesel-electric buses.
- Mississauga Transit of Mississauga, Ont., has ordered 22 60-foot diesel buses.
- Brandon Transit in Brandon, Man., has ordered seven 35-foot and four 40-foot diesel buses.
New Flyer's order backlog as of Dec. 31, 2009, was 8,990 EUs, up slightly from the 8,949 EUs in the backlog as of Oct. 4, 2009. Clean propulsion vehicles represent approximately 69 per cent of the total backlog. The dollar value of the order backlog as of Dec. 31, 2009 (and as of Oct. 4, 2009, as previously reported), was approximately $3.9-billion.
Currently, there are approximately 13,200 EUs in New Flyer's new potential order pipeline or bid universe for heavy-duty transit buses, a moderate increase from the approximately 12,300 EUs reported as of Oct. 4, 2009.
CURRENT ORDER BACKLOG Firm EUs Options EUs Total 40-foot-and-under buses 1,444 3,468 4,91260-foot buses 638 3,440 4,078 --------- --------- --------- Total 2,082 6,908 8,990
OPTIONS INCLUDED IN THE BACKLOG EXPIRE, IF NOT EXERCISEDExpiry year Option EUs 2010 8512011 9302012 1,6072013 2,7552014 765 ----------- Total options 6,908 Note: No options expired in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Subsequent to the year-end order activity, New Flyer has been awarded a bus procurement contract by a U.S. customer for up to 500 buses of varying lengths and propulsion systems, representing a minimum value of approximately $173-million should all buses be purchased. The contract documentation is currently being finalized and the customer has not yet issued any purchase orders under this award. The ability to purchase buses under this procurement is assignable to other transit systems. The 2009 year-end backlog numbers (both EUs and dollar value) do not include this award.
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