It was a short, but eventful week. A bank chief quit under a cloud, accusations of untoward trades leveled against him and some of his high-level bankers; central banks in China and throughout Europe lowering rates, to very little effect; and jobs figures on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border leaving investors and consumers with less than total confidence that things would soon be all right. Add to all these factors the mercury rising to record levels, and, all in all, it was a week when folks needed a vacation.
Yet in spite of all the summer gloom experienced in the first week of the second half of calendar 2012, someone was still making positive news in the financial world. After all, someone needs trains, planes and other conveyances, and Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. (T: BBD.B) appeared to be filling such niches the world over.
It seemed every morning during this holiday-perforated week, Bombardier was announcing a new contract with some far-flung international bus lines or level of government. The fun started on Saturday, the day before Canada, when the company announced a deal with an undisclosed buyer for eight Global business aircraft -- three Global 6000 and five Global 8000 jets. The transaction is valued at approximately $507 million U.S. based on the 2012 list price for typically equipped aircraft.
The glad tidings continued to roll on Wednesday – the fourth of July, which may account for the celebrations being preempted by the fireworks in the States – when Bombardier showed up once again at the prestigious Farnborough International Airshow in England with what its press release called "an impressive display of its diversified portfolio of business and commercial aircraft."
The planes consisted of five aircraft from Bombardier's portfolio of business and commercial aircraft, including the ultra long-range Global 6000 jet - featuring the new Vision Flight Deck - the super midsize Challenger 300 jet, the Learjet 45 XR aircraft, the Q400 NextGen turboprop airliner and the CRJ900 NextGen regional jet (the show gets underway Monday and runs through July 15.
As if to make its presence felt when the whole world had returned to work, Bombardier again dominated the headlines by inking a technology licensing deal with Chinese-based CSR Puzhen, a subsidiary of the largest player in the railway manufacturing sector in China - China South Locomotive & Rolling Stock Corporation Ltd (CSR). Under the agreement, Bombardier provided CSR Puzhen with a 10-year licence to manufacture and sell 100% low-floor streetcars with Bombardier technology in China. A dollar value wasn’t readily available at press time.
Bombardier boasts of its status as the world's only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Its transportation division offers what it calls "the broadest portfolio in the rail industry and delivers innovative products and services that set new standards in sustainable mobility.
"Bombardier ECO4 technologies," the release continues, "built on the four cornerstones of energy, efficiency, economy and ecology - conserve energy, protect the environment and help to improve total train performance."
The parent company, whose 2011 revenues registered at $18.3 billion U.S., went for a bit of a fall stock wise on Friday, easing 15 cents, or 3.6%, to $4.05, mirroring much market unease on that particular day. Its 52-week high of $6.83 was achieved in early July 2011, while its trough of $3.30 was plumbed in December. Perhaps the activity generating by the above mentioned deals would call for the price to make its way back to the peaks enjoyed last summer – when faces were every bit as long.
