At the Embraer Media Day on 18 June, hosted in San Jose dos Campos, Embraer’s President and CEO, Franciso Gomes Neto, refuted once again that Embraer was working on a larger narrowbody aircraft to rival that of Airbus and Boeing.
Speaking to assembled reporters, Gomes Neto said that: “Whilst I think we have the capabilities to do bigger things, […] at this time we don’t have concrete plans to get into the market.”
Whilst he said that ongoing studies into the use case for a larger narrowbody were ongoing, the primary focus of the company from a commercial standpoint was making the OEM a US$10bn company by 2030.
“We’re making studies about opportunities, not only in commercial but in other business units. But we’re really focused on selling the aeroplanes we have […] to improve further, to improve a financial future and generate more cash,” he added.
According to Embraer’s Chief Financial Officer, Antonio Carlos, around 30-40% of its cash flow is being invested in research and development projects.
Photo: Embraer
Levelling Up: Embraer Deliveries and Financial Outlook
Its Q1 2024 results, Embraer saw a $21.1bn backlog, with the biggest increase attributed to its Commercial Aviation division at $US11.1bn – a rise of 26%. Its deliveries were increased by an average of 67% – albeit largely in executive aviation, whilst commercial aviation did not increase between 2023 and 2024.
When asked about how Embraer is dealing with aircraft deliveries to clear its backlog, compared to its competition, Gomes Neto said: “Of course we’re in the club. We’re also suffering with this delay to deliver the aircraft. That’s why we are focusing a lot on working very hard with this production level up.”
“2024 was a difficult year, but we hope that from 2025 onwards, it will be more and that more aircraft will go into delivery.” Gomes Neto also clarified that shifts in delivery timelines would happen between Q3 and Q4, reducing it to a matter of weeks, and not months worth of delays – unlike the woes that affect Boeing, for example.
Embraer’s ‘Production Leveling’ plan, outlined by Gomes Neto during the conference, detailed the steps the OEM plans to take in order to increase efficiency, productivity and improve its cash flow.
Some of the objectives discussed included monitoring aircraft completion on an hourly basis, and improving supply chain management.
Photo: Author’s Own
Antonio Carlos Garcia outlined Embraer’s current market share across its business, with 62% in North America, 20% in Europe, and 9% in Brazil. Other areas, such as APAC, are emerging, with India, Saudi Arabia, and African markets all targeted by the OEM.
All of these are ideal growth grounds for the Commercial Aviation sector, as Gomes Neto adding that Embraer was working to introduce the E2s into India: “India is a target market for Embraer, and we believe we have good opportunities in Saudi Arabia, and Africa, for the E2 [amongst other aircraft in its portfolio].”
