The Brexit vote put a damper on Gulfstream sales at the end of the second quarter, but prospects are still good—“better than any [other] time so far this year”—and the continued solid U.S. economy and quick stock market recovery after the UK voted to exit the EU has calmed the jittery nerves of potential buyers, Phebe Novakovic, chairman and CEO of parent company General Dynamics, told investors today. Geographically, half of the jet orders placed in the quarter were from North America, with the remainder from the Middle East, Asia, Europe and South America, “in that order,” she said.
Second-quarter revenues at General Dynamics aerospace division, which includes both Gulfstream and Jet Aviation, fell $124 million year-over-year, to $2.134 billion, as completed Gulfstream deliveries dropped by seven units, to 34. This includes 27 large-cabin and seven midsize jets, compared with 33 large-cabin and eight midsize in the same quarter last year. Aerospace quarterly profits fell by $25 million from a year ago, to $845 million.
At the end of the quarter, aerospace backlog sat at $11.755 billion, about $350 million less than 90 days earlier. Backlog for the G650 extends to 24 months, while it is nine to 12 months for the G150, G280, G450 and G550.
Novakovic also addressed the state of the pre-owned G650 market during the second-quarter investor call. “Some are saying that there are 21 G650s on the market, but we count only 14 on the market, and one of those has a sale pending,” she noted. “With 14 on the market, this is only 7.5 percent of the installed fleet, which is below the normal 10-percent watermark. I’m comfortable that the pre-owned G650 market is appropriate and rational.”