Air travel has taken a hit , many airlines have laid off their pilots, scale is such that Canada's CAE Inc - the aviation flight simulator major has now posted a drop in aviation training revenue , that has influnced the company shares, down as much as 9%.
2021 summer was a hope for recovery , not only for airlines but for this training company that provide services to almost all the major plane makers including Airbus and Boeing , but rising COVID-19 infections of different virus variants and slow vaccination drive across the globe has shown a gloomy picture ahead.
Chief Executive Officer Marc Parent, however, said he was confident of “strong growth” in CAE’s aviation training unit and services in fiscal 2022, even as the company did not provide details on the outlook.
Due to this hit, CAE expects to sustain additional expenses of about C$50 million in fiscal year 2022, higher than the forecasted C$30 million earlier.
Due to the slowdown in commercial aviation flight training business , CAE on March 1st bolstered its defense business as it agreed to buy L3Harris Technologies Inc’s military training division for around US $1 billion.
The Training division purchase included Link, Doss Aviation & AMI, which provide military training in the United States, flight training to the US air force, & hardware for simulators, respectively.
CAE's chief executive Marc Parent had released a statement at that time , saying ,
"The acquisition will significantly broaden its defense and security footprint including capabilities for training on US fighter jets, bombers, helicopters, submarines & drones" .
Company's 2020 Last-quarter defence revenue was C$334.4 million, that was 2% down compared to the previos year- same period, but rose by 12% from the three months prior.
CAE’s total revenue was down 8% at C$894.3 million but beat Wall Street estimates of C$879 million.
Picture : Abigail Dias
