Bombardier was able to increase deliveries despite supply chain disruptions, helping the private jet maker start the year off on the right foot by beating analysts’ expectations.

In addition to posting an increase in its revenues, the Quebec multinational, refocused on business aviation, also had a profitable first quarter during the period that ended on March 31.

“Our robust performance adds to our solid results of the past two years and confirms that we are moving in the right direction,” Bombardier President and CEO Eric Martel said in a statement on Monday.

The Montreal-based company posted first-quarter revenue of US$1.5 billion, up 17% from a year ago, while its net profit was US$302 million, or $2. US$.98 per share. In the first quarter last year, Bombardier posted a net loss of US$287 million, or US$3.09 per share.

On the delivery side, they stood at 22 aircraft – 14 from the Global family and eight Challenger – or one additional aircraft. At the same time a year ago, Bombardier also delivered three Learjets, the production of which has ceased. The increase in the production rate at the aircraft manufacturer was able to offset the production stoppage of the Learjet.

“ Aircraft deliveries are progressing with a view to achieving the forecast of more than 138 deliveries for the financial year ”, underlines the company.

For its part, the ratio of new orders to the number of deliveries was 0.9. This means that new contracts were equivalent to deliveries during the months of January, February and March. Despite recession fears, the order backlog remained stable at US$14.8 billion.

Excluding one-time items, Bombardier earned an adjusted profit of US$113 million, or US$1.06 per share, compared to an adjusted loss of US$69 million, or 80 cents per share, in the first quarter of 2022 .

This quarterly performance exceeded the expectations of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who expected revenue of 1.4 billion US on an adjusted loss per share of 14 cents US.