U.S. aerospace and defence company RTX has raised its full-year earnings forecast and beat estimates for second-quarter profit on Thursday, July 25, according to REUTERS, aided by a rebound in the broader commercial aviation sector.
RTX stock hit an all-time high, trading up 8% at US$113 in New York.
Airlines are flying older aircraft to meet the surge in air travel demand amid a shortage of new jets, leading to a bustling aftermarket business and benefiting companies such as RTX. “The strength in our end-markets and first-half performance gives us the confidence to increase our outlook for adjusted sales and adjusted EPS for the full year,” said CEO Chris Calio.
Meanwhile, strong demand for original equipment and aftermarket services led to a more than twofold jump in quarterly profit at Pratt and Whitney, a subsidiary of RTX, to US$542 million.
Pratt and Whitney—the maker of the popular Geared Turbofan (GTF) engines, which power Airbus' A320neo jets—has been conducting an inspection drive to check for potentially flawed components in the GTF jet engines.
RTX said it has reached agreements with more than 18 GTF engine customers.
“We had nine (agreements) that were completed at the end of the first quarter; we've more than doubled that,” Chief Financial Officer Neil Mitchill told Reuters in an interview.
RTX posted adjusted per-share net income of US$1.41 in the quarter, beating analysts' average estimate of US$1.30, according to LSEG data. The company's revenue jumped 8% to US$19.72 billion during the period.
It expects full-year adjusted profit per share to be between US$5.35 and US$5.45, compared with its prior forecast range of US$5.25 to US$5.40.
GE Aerospace, which makes the competing LEAP engines, also raised its full-year profit forecast earlier this week, but flagged persistent supply constraints hurting new engine output.
