Planemaker Embraer plans to boost deliveries as demand heats up

By Gabriel Araujo

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Embraer expects to increase aircraft deliveries by up to 18% this year, it said on Thursday, reaching as many as 240 commercial and executive jets as it continues to lift output to meet strong demand.

Despite supply chain disruptions, the world's third-largest planemaker - which delivered 203 jets last year - has been raising annual deliveries since 2021, marking a recovery from the pandemic-related downturn.

The Brazilian company's outlook for this year places commercial aviation deliveries at between 77 and 85 aircraft, up from 73 in 2024. Business jet deliveries are estimated to hit between 145 and 155, up from last year's 130.

"We could have had even better guidance, to be honest. Our guidance is within the limits of supply chain bottlenecks," Chief Executive Francisco Gomes Neto told Reuters after quarterly results.

Planemakers overall, including larger rivals Airbus and Boeing, have struggled in recent years with supply chain snags, such as a shortage of engines, that affected output plans and delayed deliveries.

Gomes Neto said the scenario has been improving, noting that although some constraints remain, Embraer should be able to better spread out production in 2025, taking some pressure off the seasonally busier fourth quarter.

The higher annual deliveries should also lead to an expansion in revenues, which were projected at between $7.0 billion and $7.5 billion in 2025, after reaching $6.39 billion last year.

Embraer, whose focus is on up to 150-seat single-aisle aircraft, has been experiencing solid demand for its jets and solidified itself as a market darling, with shares near all-time highs after more than doubling in value last year.

Earlier this week it received a firm order for 15 E190-E2 planes from Japan's ANA, after also inking a record $7 billion deal to supply Flexjet with up to 212 business jets.

The outlook remains positive this year as several sales campaigns are ongoing, Gomes Neto noted, including for the C-390 military cargo aircraft that attracted clients such as the Netherlands, Austria, Sweden and Slovakia last year.

"We see 2025 as even better than 2024 in all aspects," he said. "Maybe we won't hit the same sales levels because of that huge Flexjet contract, which is not something we see every year, but we expect a very good year in terms of sales."

Embraer reported a 29% jump in fourth-quarter core profit to $328 million on net revenue that rose 17% to $2.31 billion.

Both metrics exceeded market forecasts, as analysts polled by LSEG expected them to hit $263.5 million and $2.2 billion, respectively.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Christina Fincher, David Goodman and David Evans)