Bombardier earnings reach record $1 billion

Bombardier Inc. announced Thursday that it earned a net profit of $1 billion in the fiscal year ended Jan. 31, a record, on revenue of $19.7 billion. The train and plane manufacturer earned $317 million on revenue of $17.5 billion in the prior year.

Bombardier ended the fiscal year with a strong cash position of $3.5 billion and a backlog of unfilled orders worth $48 billion. This is less than the backlog of $53.6 billion reported on Jan. 31, 2008, due to the impact of the weakening of foreign currencies compared to the U.S. dollar.

Pierre Beaudoin, Bombardier president and CEO, commented: "During the past year, we more than held our own as the world’s financialmarkets tumbled and the global economy weakened. … There is no doubt that we are going through challenging times and our business environment is changing fast. There’s a need for prudent execution, clear priorities, and decisive action in the current context. However, we believe we are well positioned to face this difficult economic environment with a strong balance sheet and a high level of liquidity, as well as a large and diversified backlog."