General Dynamics reports higher Q2 profits on back of higher Gulfstream jet sales

Gulfstream Aerospace parent, General Dynamics, reported a 25 per cent increase in Q2  profits mainly  on the back of increasing sales of Gulfstream business jets. The company posted a second-quarter profit of $641 million, up from $513 million in the same period a year ago.

The profits were reported on sales of $7.3 billion.

Meanwhile, at Savannah, Georgia-based Gulfstream, the sales backlog of its business jets stood at $1.32 billion as of end of last month. The backlog is up more than 10 per cent year-over-year.

''Growth in the aerospace backlog is a reflection of continued demand for the entire existing product line and extremely strong demand for the new Gulfstream G650,'' said General Dynamics chairman and CEO Nicholas Chabraja. ''We are very pleased to see this interest in the new plane and view that as an indicator of Gulfstream's ability to anticipate and exceed its customers' product expectations.''

The company has converted about 100 of the 500 options it had attracted for the G650 into firm orders, and the company expects to firm up majority of the rest by the year-end as well.

During the quarter, Gulfstream delivered 22 large and 17 mid-size jets, compared with 20 and 16 similar deliveries over the same period last year.