By AIN International

Business jet deliveries at Gulfstream Aerospace surged 40 percent in the fourth quarter—to 42 units (34 large-cabin and eight midsize jets)—largely thanks to nine shipments of the newly certified G500, parent company General Dynamics announced today. This pushed full-year Gulfstream deliveries to 121, one more than in 2017 and meeting General Dynamics’ guidance of 121 to 125 units. The mix favored large-cabin jets, at 92, up two from a year earlier.

Revenues at General Dynamics’ aerospace division, which also includes Jet Aviation, climbed 4 percent last year, to $8.455 billion, while earnings slid 5.5 percent year-over-year, to $1.49 billion, due to since-fixed completions problems at Jet Aviation and ramp-up costs for the new G500 and G600, said General Dynamics chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic. Regarding the G600, she noted that the 35-day partial U.S. government shutdown delayed this model’s certification to the second quarter.

The company’s aerospace backlog stood at $14.505 billion at year-end, about $80 million higher than a year ago. Book-to-bill at Gulfstream was 0.91:1 for the year but would have been higher if a pending $1 billion aircraft fleet order had been firmed up by December 31, said Novakovic.

This year, Gulfstream is expected to deliver about 145 jets, with aerospace revenues projected to rise to $9.7 billion, according to General Dynamics