In a sea change for Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., the manufacturer shipped less than 40 helicopters in the first quarter, after five aircraft did not make it out the door before April due to an unspecified quality issue with a parts supplier.
Sikorsky earned $136 million as sales dropped 15 percent to below $1.4 billion, with strong sales for spare parts offsetting the lower helicopter shipments. Sikorsky is a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp (UTC).
The Stratford-based manufacturer had expected lower profits in the first quarter as it absorbs additional costs from a delayed contract to supply Canada with maritime helicopters. On the plus side, in February the United Kingdom-based Bond Aviation Group placed an order for 16 Sikorsky S-92 helicopters, marking Sikorsky”™s largest-ever order for the helicopter.
Sikorsky shipped just 39 helicopters during the quarter, 34 for military use and just five for commercial use. Sikorsky shipped at least 70 helicopters in each of the previous three quarters, and 58 helicopters in the first quarter of 2011.
In a conference call Tuesday, April 24, UTC CFO Greg Hayes said five Sikorsky helicopters did not ship as expected due to the supplier hiccup. Those aircraft have since shipped.
Sikorsky will deliver five helicopters to Canada this year, Hayes added, with the bulk to follow next year as Sikorsky irons out glitches in the aircraft’s mission software.
“We’re working with the customer all the time,” Hayes said. “It’s a great helicopter.”
Hartford-based UTC earned $407 million in the first quarter as revenue tailed off 2 percent to $12.4 billion. Aviation systems maker Hamilton Sundstrand was the lone division of six at UTC to increase both sales and profits from a year ago.
UTC is in the process of acquiring aerospace and defense conglomerate Goodrich Corp., which is scheduled to release its own first-quarter result on Thursday, April 26. UTC has been divesting smaller business units to raise cash for the $16.4 billion deal. Hayes said he feels “really good” about lining up the necessary financing to complete the Goodrich acquisition.
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