MONTRÉAL, Jan. 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bombardier (TSX: BBD.B) today unveiled preliminary 2022 financial results, highlighting areas for which it expects to exceed full-year guidance. The company will release its fourth quarter and full-year 2022 results as scheduled on February 9, 2023, and will also hold a live webcast and conference call for investors at 8:00 a.m. EST that same day. The webcast and relevant financial charts will be available at ir.bombardier.com.

Preliminary full-year 2022 results⁽¹⁾

Preliminary full year results on non-guided metrics include a full-year 2022 unit book-to-bill⁽⁴⁾ of ~ 1.4, year-over-year order backlog growth to ~ $14.8 billion, and adjusted liquidity⁽³⁾ of ~ $1.7 billion. Adjusted liquidity at year-end includes cash and cash equivalents of ~ $1.3 billion plus certain restricted cash supporting various bank guarantees of ~ $0.4 billion. Adjusted liquidity excludes the secured revolver facility previously announced in November 2022, which remains undrawn.

_{(1) See the forward-looking statements disclaimer hereinafter.
(2) An update to 2022 full-year Guidance was announced in Bombardier’s second quarter 2022 financial results press release dated August 4, 2022.
(3) Non-GAAP financial measure. A non-GAAP financial measure is not a standardized financial measure under the financial reporting
framework used to prepare our financial statements and might not be comparable to similar financial measures used by other issuers. Refer
to the Caution regarding Non-GAAP financial measures section hereinafter for definitions of these metrics and reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures.
(4) Defined as net new aircraft orders in units over aircraft deliveries in units.}

The selected preliminary and unaudited full-year 2022 financial results included in this press release are an estimate and are based on information available as of January 16, 2023, and management's initial review of operating results for the year ended December 31, 2022. These preliminary results are subject to further changes upon completion of Bombardier’s standard year-end closing procedures. The preliminary information herein is subject to revision as the company prepares its annual financial statements, and as Bombardier’s independent auditors conduct their year-end audit thereof. This update should not be viewed as a substitute for Bombardier’s full audited annual results and does not present all necessary information for an understanding of Bombardier’s financial condition as of the date of this release, or its results of operations for the year ended December 31, 2022. As Bombardier completes its year-end financial close process and finalizes its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2022, it is possible that Bombardier may identify items that require it to make adjustments to the preliminary financial results set forth herein above and those changes could be material. The preliminary expected financial information set forth herein above constitutes forward-looking statements, upon which you should not place undue reliance because they may prove to be materially inaccurate. Bombardier does not intend to update such financial information prior to release of its final fourth quarter and full-year 2022 results scheduled for February 9, 2023.

About Bombardier

Bombardier (BBD-B.TO) is a global leader in aviation, focused on designing, manufacturing, and servicing the world's most exceptional business jets. Bombardier’s Challenger and Global aircraft families are renowned for their cutting-edge innovation, cabin design, performance, and reliability. Bombardier has a worldwide fleet of approximately 5,000 aircraft in service with a wide variety of multinational corporations, charter and fractional ownership providers, governments, and private individuals. Bombardier aircraft are also trusted around the world in government and military special-mission roles leveraging Bombardier Defense’s proven expertise.  

Headquartered in Greater Montréal, Québec, Bombardier operates aerostructure, assembly and completion facilities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. The company’s robust customer support network services the Learjet, Challenger and Global families of aircraft, and includes facilities in strategic locations in the United States and Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the UAE, Singapore, China and Australia.  

For corporate news and information, including Bombardier’s Environmental, Social and Governance report, as well as the company’s plans to cover all its flight operations with Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) utilizing the Book and Claim system visit bombardier.com. Learn more about Bombardier’s industry-leading products and customer service network at businessaircraft.bombardier.com. Follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.   

Bombardier, Learjet, Challenger and Global are registered or unregistered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

For information

CAUTION REGARDING NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

This press release is based on expected reported earnings in accordance with IFRS and on the following non-GAAP financial measures:

Non-GAAP and other financial measures are measures mainly derived from the consolidated financial statements but are not standardized financial measures under the financial reporting framework used to prepare our financial statements. Therefore, these might not be comparable to similar non-GAAP and other financial measures used by other issuers. The exclusion of certain items from non-GAAP or other financial measures does not imply that these items are necessarily non-recurring.

Adjusted EBIT
Adjusted EBIT is defined as the EBIT excluding special items⁽¹⁾ which comprise items that do not reflect our core performance or where their separate presentation will assist users in understanding our results for the period. Management uses adjusted EBIT for purposes of evaluating underlying business performance. Management believes presentation of this non-GAAP operating earnings measure in addition to IFRS measures provides users of our Financial Report with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases the transparency and clarity of the core results of our business. For these reasons, a significant number of users of this press release analyze our results based on this financial measure. Management believes this measure helps users of the press release to better analyze results, enabling better comparability of our results from one period to another and with peers.

Adjusted EBITDA
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as the EBIT excluding special items⁽¹⁾, amortization and impairment charges on PP&E and intangible assets. Management uses adjusted EBITDA for purposes of evaluating underlying business performance. Management believes this non-GAAP operating earnings measure in addition to IFRS measures provides users of our Financial Report with enhanced understanding of our results and related trends and increases the transparency and clarity of the core results of our business, since it excludes the effects of items that are usually associated with investing or financing activities and items that do not reflect our core performance or where their exclusion will assist users in understanding our results for the period. For these reasons, a significant number of users of this press release analyze our results based on this financial measure. Management believes this measure helps users of this press release to better analyze results, enabling better comparability of our results from one period to another and with peers.

_{(1) Refer to the Consolidated results of operations section in the MD&A of the Corporation’s financial report for the quarter ended September 30, 2022, for details regarding special items.}

Free cash flow
Free cash flow is defined as cash flows from operating activities - continued operations less net additions to PP&E and intangible assets. Management believes that this non-GAAP cash flow measure provides investors with an important perspective on the Corporation’s generation of cash available for shareholders, debt repayment, and acquisitions after making the capital investments required to support ongoing business operations and long-term value creation. This non-GAAP cash flow measure does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures as it excludes certain mandatory expenditures such as repayment of maturing debt. Management uses free cash flow as a measure to assess both business performance and overall liquidity generation.

Adjusted liquidity
Adjusted liquidity is defined as cash and cash equivalents from continuing operations, plus certain restricted cash supporting various bank guarantees. Management believes that this non-GAAP financial measure is a useful measure because it includes items in its results that management believes is a better reflection of the company’s liquidity. This measure does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and therefore, may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other companies.

Reconciliations of non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable IFRS financial measures are provided in the tables hereafter.

Expected reconciliation of adjusted EBIT to EBIT

Expected reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA to EBIT

Expected reconciliation of free cash flow to cash flows from operating activities

Expected reconciliation of adjusted liquidity to cash and cash equivalents

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which may involve, but are not limited to: statements with respect to our objectives, anticipations and outlook or guidance in respect of various financial and global metrics and sources of contribution thereto, targets, goals, priorities, market and strategies, financial position, financial performance, market position, capabilities, competitive strengths, credit ratings, beliefs, prospects, plans, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions; general economic and business outlook, prospects and trends of an industry; customer value; expected demand for products and services; growth strategy; product development, including projected design, characteristics, capacity or performance; expected or scheduled entry-into-service of products and services, orders, deliveries, testing, lead times, certifications and execution of orders in general; competitive position; expectations regarding revenue and backlog mix; the expected impact of the legislative and regulatory environment and legal proceedings; strength of capital profile and balance sheet, creditworthiness, available liquidities and capital resources, expected financial requirements, and ongoing review of strategic and financial alternatives; the introduction of productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, cost reduction and restructuring initiatives, and anticipated costs, intended benefits and timing thereof; the anticipated business transition to growth cycle and cash generation; expectations, objectives and strategies regarding debt repayment, refinancing of maturities and interest cost reduction; compliance with restrictive debt covenants; expectations regarding the declaration and payment of dividends on our preferred shares; intentions and objectives for our programs, assets and operations; expectations regarding the availability of government assistance programs; the impact of both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia on the foregoing and the effectiveness of plans and measures we have implemented in response thereto; and expectations regarding the strength of the market and economic recovery in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Forward-looking statements can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may”, “will”, “shall”, “can”, “expect”, “estimate”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “foresee”, “believe”, “continue”, “maintain” or “align”, the negative of these terms, variations of them or similar terminology. Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of assisting investors and others in understanding certain key elements of our current objectives, strategic priorities, expectations, outlook and plans, and in obtaining a better understanding of our business and anticipated operating environment. Readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purposes.

By their nature, forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to important known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause our actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecast results set forth in forward-looking statements. While management considers these assumptions to be reasonable and appropriate based on information currently available, there is risk that they may not be accurate. The assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release include the following material assumptions: growth of the business aviation market and the Corporation’s share of such market; proper identification of recurring cost savings and executing on our cost reduction plan; optimization of our real estate portfolio, including through the sale or other transaction in respect of real estate assets on favorable terms; and access to working capital facilities on market terms. For additional information, including with respect to other assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements made in this press release, refer to the Forward-looking statements - Assumptions section in the MD&A of our financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Given the impact of the changing circumstances surrounding both the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, including because of the emergence of COVID-19 variants and the imposition of financial and economic sanctions and export control limitations, and the related response from the Corporation, governments (federal, provincial and municipal, both domestic, foreign and multinational inter-governmental organizations), regulatory authorities, businesses, suppliers, customers, counterparties and third-party service providers, there is inherently more uncertainty associated with the Corporation’s assumptions as compared to prior periods.

Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with general economic conditions, risks associated with our business environment (such as risks associated with the financial condition of business aircraft customers; trade policy; increased competition; political instability; financial and economic sanctions and export control limitations; global climate change; and force majeure events); operational risks (such as risks related to developing new products and services; development of new business; order backlog; the continuing transition to a business aviation focused company; the certification of products and services; the execution of orders; pressures on cash flows and capital expenditures based on seasonality and cyclicality; execution of our strategy, productivity enhancements, operational efficiencies, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; doing business with partners; product performance warranty and casualty claim losses; regulatory and legal proceedings; environmental, health and safety risks; dependence on certain customers, contracts and suppliers; supply chain risks; human resources including the global availability of a skilled workforce; reliance on information systems (including technology vulnerabilities, cybersecurity threats and privacy breaches); reliance on and protection of intellectual property rights; reputation risks; risk management; tax matters; and adequacy of insurance coverage), financing risks (such as risks related to liquidity and access to capital markets; retirement benefit plan risk; exposure to credit risk; substantial debt and interest payment requirements; restrictive debt covenants; reliance on debt management and interest cost reduction strategies; and reliance on government support); market risks (such as foreign currency fluctuations; changing interest rates; increases in commodity prices; and inflation rate fluctuations); and other unforeseen adverse events. For more details, see the Risks and uncertainties section in Other in the MD&A of our financial report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021. Any one or more of the foregoing factors may be exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ongoing military conflict between Ukraine and Russia, and may have a significantly more severe impact on the Corporation’s business, results of operations and financial condition than in the absence of such events.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future growth, results and performance is not exhaustive and undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. Other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we presently believe are not material could also cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements set forth herein reflect management’s expectations as at the date of this report and are subject to change after such date. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we expressly disclaim any intention, and assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.