Major changes are afoot at Bombardier. The Quebec-based company has seen setbacks with some of its projects, including the CSeries aircraft. Recently, Bombardier suspended its Learjet program as well as corporate restructuring. However, the company is making more changes in the hopes of correcting challenges, especially in its aerospace division.
The company announced, effective Friday, that Alain Bellemare will take over as the new CEO. This date will also be when longtime chairman of the Bombardier board, Laurent Beaudoin, steps down.
Beaudoin is a member of the family that has controlled the company since it was founded and will be replaced by his son Pierre Beaudoin, who has been chief executive.
We have one overriding objective at Bombardier: to become a true high performance organization with improved margins and better execution. We are determined and focused on delivering, said Pierre Beaudoin, President and Chief Executive Officer, Bombardier Inc. We continue to take action to put in place the right conditions to deliver profitable growth. Thanks to the lighter structure implemented in the Aerospace and Transportation business segments, we will fully benefit from the great potential of our new products, he explained, while also welcoming the new CEO Bellemare.
“I wish to welcome Alain Bellemare to Bombardier. Alain is an experienced executive who acquired a deep knowledge of the manufacturing sector while assuming leadership positions in various industries, said Beaudoin.
Bellemare has 18 years experience at United Technologies Corp., including at the Pratt and Whitney division that makes jet engines for Bombardier and other customers.
We must improve profitability and realize the true potential of this great organization, Bellemare said in a statement. I am thrilled to take on these new responsibilities and to join forces with Pierre Beaudoin and the rest of the senior management team.
The changes came as the company said it lost $1.59 billion or 92 cents per share in its fourth quarter compared with a profit of $97 million or five cents per share a year ago. Revenue totalled $5.96 billion, up from $5.32 billion in the fourth quarter of 2013.
The loss for the quarter included a $1.4-billion charge related to a pause of its Learjet 85 program announced last month.
Bombardier said it would suspend work on the new model of Learjet in order to preserve cash for other parts of the business. The company also announced that it will suspend dividend payments and will seek shareholder permission to issue up to C$2.5 billion in debt and new shares to bolster its cash reserves.
The company says the plan will be supported by the Bombardier-Beaudoin family—which has been led by Laurent Beaudoin for more than 50 years. Bombardier was founded by Pierre Beaudoins grandfather, a Quebec inventor best known for the Ski-Doo snowmobiles.
SOURCE Bombardier
