Bombardier wins contract extension from Ontario’s Metrolinx, Global jet order

By Ross Marowits, The Canadian Press

Ontario’s Metrolinx has extended two contracts with Bombardier Transportation worth $927 million for fleet operations and maintenance services for its commuter rail system in the Greater Toronto Area.

Bombardier (TSX:BBD.B) said Friday the contracts for the GO Transit network have been extended to 2023.

GO Transit, a division of Metrolinx, is the regional public transit service for the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area, carrying some 62 million passengers a year.

Bombardier said it has provided fleet maintenance services to GO Transit since 1997 and operations services since 2008.

The company has also supplied more than 600 two-level rail coaches manufactured at its plant in Thunder Bay, Ont., for the transit authority’s commuter rail fleet.

“This extension confirms once more Bombardier’s leadership position as a services provider for passenger rail fleets in North America and worldwide,” stated Raymond Bachant, president Bombardier Transportation North America.

Meanwhile, Bombardier’s Aerospace division announced Friday a US$293-million order for five Global 6000 business jets from an existing customer which it did not name.

The head of the business aircraft segment said there is strong momentum for the Global aircraft family of planes, Bombardier’s largest business jets which have fared well during the economic slowdown.

“This order reinforces, once again, the leadership of our products in terms of range, cabin volume and comfort, as well as state of the art technology,” said Steve Ridolfi.

The Global 6000 aircraft can fly up to eight passengers non-stop between Montreal and Doha.

Friday’s order comes nearly a month after VistaJet signed a deal for up to 142 Global-series aircraft valued at US$7.8 billion. The deal included a firm order for 56 planes that will be delivered starting in 2014.

Walter Spracklin of RBC Capital Markets said the VistaJet order, coupled with last year’s firm order from NetJets for 50 Global jets, “puts Bombardier’s Global family atop the large-cabin, ultra-range product category.”

As of Sept. 30, Bombardier had an order backlog for 34 months of Global aircraft production.

Bombardier has had a busy week of pre-Christmas order announcements. It won a firm order for 10 larger CSeries aircraft from airBaltic, plus an option to buy an additional 10 planes. And an unidentified airline based in the Americas signed a letter of intent for up to 30 CS100 planes, worth up to US$2.08 billion.

Turan Quettawala of Scotiabank said Bombardier hasn’t had much success prior to airBaltic’s firm order in converting letters of intent.

“While this does mean that there is increasing interest in the CSeries, we believe this also means that customers are keeping options open ahead of certification and achievement of performance targets, ” he wrote in a report.

Bombardier has delayed the first flight of the CSeries and Quettawala said he doesn’t believe that flight take place before the second quarter. That is because at least three months of testing will begin in January on the recently assembled CAST grounded aircraft that will test the plane’s systems.

Bombardier said the wings on the first test flight aircraft have been attached to the fuselage and assembly of that plane is progressing smoothly.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Bombardier’s shares were up a penny at C$3.69 in morning trading Friday.

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