TD First look: PositiveEvent
Bombardier reported Q3/23 Adjusted EBITDA of $285 million, compared to our forecast of $245 million and consensus of $262 million.
Impact: POSITIVE
We believe that stronger-than-forecast Q3/23 EBITDA, positive FCF and unchanged full year guidance (which we believe has upside) should be viewed positively by investors. Total revenue growth of 28%, delivery growth of 24%, 11% aftermarket revenue growth and unchanged 2023 delivery guidance (implies 12% full-year growth) is encouraging. Q3/23 FCF and unchanged guidance in particular should help alleviate investor concerns that have been weighing on the share price.
Revenue of $1.86 billion increased 28% y/y (TD/consensus: $1.72 billion/$1.74 billion). Deliveries increased to 31 aircraft (TD: 31), with two fewer large aircraft and two more medium aircraft than estimated. Services revenue increased 11% y/y to $414 million (TD: $391 million).
Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 100 bps y/y to 15.4% (TD/consensus: 14.2%/15.1%) was due to Global 7500 margins, volume, aftermarket growth, and cost management. Orders: Book-to-bill (units) of 1.1x demonstrates the expected moderation from the strong levels of the past two years, and compares to GD's 1.3x in Aerospace and Cessna's 1.4x (biased higher due to delivery delays).
Backlog decreased $200 million sequentially to $14.7 billion, but remains strong, and supportive of our expectations for delivery growth through at least 2025. While supportive of the outlook, we don't believe the book-to-bill is strong enough to help alleviate those investors concerned about the cycle. We view the book-to-bill as an expected normalization
Free cash flow was $80 million (TD: $19 million). The difference was primarily due to contract liabilities and trade payables, partially offset by capex and inventory.
Balance Sheet: Trailing 4-quarter Adjusted net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA declined sequentially to 4.1x (TD: 4.3x) from 4.5x. The company has $1.2 billion of liquidity, of which $1.0 billion is cash equivalents.
Guidance: No change to full year guidance of >138 deliveries (TD: 138), revenue > $7.6 billion (TD: $7.88 billion), Adjusted EBITDA >$1.125 billion (TD: $1.18 billion), Adjusted EBIT >$695 million (TD: $745 million), and FCF >$250 million (TD: $293 million).