THE CSERIES SERVES A SMALLER MARKET THAT BOEING ABANDONED YEARS AGO.

75 CSeries jets to Delta Air Lines Ltd.

The 194-page written decision, made public Wednesday evening by Leeham News, a trade publication, and confirmed by a Bombardier spokesperson, shows that the commissioners found that Boeing not only did not compete for the Delta order, but that the sale did not come at Boeing’s expense.

“Given that Boeing’s 100- to 150-seat (large civil aircraft) did not meet the future would likely be at the domestic industry’s expense.”

It was not yet clear whether Boeing will seek to appeal the ITC’s decision.

Delta Air Lines on Thursday said it intends to take as many U.S.-made Bombardier CSeries as possible, but at least some of its earlier deliveries will likely be Canadian imports due to contractual obligations on timing.

“We have contractual commitments to begin taking deliveries later this year and the (U.S. International Trade Commission) decision clears the way for Delta to accept deliveries in Canada as well,” Delta spokesman Morgan Durrant said.

Bellemare told analyst on Thursday that the ruling was “a victory for innovation, competition, and the rule of law.”

“The ITC recognized that the (Boeing) 737 family of aircraft, with a deep backlog and record profits, is not under threat from our sale to Delta,” he said.

“The CSeries serves a smaller aircraft market that Boeing abandoned years ago. We are looking forward to bringing this innovative plane to the market.”

Bellemare also said now that it has completed its second full year of its fiveyear turnaround plan, the company’s focus will shift from “an investment cycle into a strong growth phase”, with the pending launch of its new Global 7000 business jet. Bombardier’s chief financial officer John Di Bert said entry into service of the jet will provide a free cash flow tailwind.

Bombardier reported a quarterly adjusted net income of $51 million in the three-month period ended Dec. 31, compared to a $141 million loss at the same time last year. Revenues in the quarter jumped to $4.72 billion from $4.38 billion. Free cash flow, a key indicator watched by investors, improved by 76 per cent to $872 million this year from $495 million last year.

For 2017, Bombardier reported a loss of $553 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, an improvement from its loss of $981 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. fairly quickly into next year,” Perry said on a conference call with analysts Thursday morning, adding that it was “pretty minor hit, overall.”

The company reported net earnings attributable to common equity shareholders of $963 million for 2017, or $2.32 per share, up from $585 million, or $1.89 per share, for the previous year.

The utility also estimated annual earnings per share would be reduced in 2018 by approximately three per cent due to U.S. tax reform, as interest is anticipated to be deducted at the lower, 21-percent, rate.

“The tax shield related to interest expense is less valuable when tax rates are lower,” Perry explained.