Airbus deal helps cut Bombardier’s risk

Article Excerpt

BOMBARDIER INC. (Toronto symbols BBD.A $4.63 and BBD.B $4.61; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing &Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 2.4 billion; Market cap: $11.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.7; Dividend suspended in February 2015; TSINetwork Rating: Speculative; www.bombardier.com) is the world’s third-largest maker of commercial aircraft, after Boeing (No. 1) and Airbus (No. 2). It also makes commuter trains. Bombardier has now completed the deal to fold its CSeries passenger jet operations into a new joint venture with European aircraft maker Airbus SE. As a result, Airbus now owns 50.01% of the CSeries (renamed A220) airliner business; Bombardier owns 33.55% (down from 62%); and the Quebec government owns the remaining 16.44% (down from 38%). Neither Bombardier nor the Quebec government received any cash from Airbus. However, Airbus’s manufacturing expertise and large client base should help A220 sales. If you exclude a $599 million charge on the Airbus deal and other unusual items, Bombardier earned $87 million, or $0.03 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2018 (all…