Bell sees 2010 revenue up by around 16%

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Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron Inc, said it sees its revenue climbing by around 16% this year, thanks to strong demand from the US military for its aircraft.

Chief Executive John Garrison told Reuters in an interview that the company sees demand from commercial clients stabilising this year from a sharp drop during the financial crisis before returning to growth in 2011 and 2012. He also said that Asian countries such as China, India, Indonesia and Malaysia will present the company with growth opportunities in 2010, partly helped by corporate demand from the resources sector in the region.

"This year we think is going to be a bit as challenging as 2009 but we saw stabilisation. So we think that perhaps 2010 will be the trough and we will see growth returning in 2011, 2012 for the commercial segment," Garrison said ahead of the Singapore Airshow.

"Our revenue is going to grow, the strong performance of the military side helps offset the weak commercial market," he said, adding that overall growth for the company is expected to be around 16 percent for this year.

US defense department plans to ask Congress for more than USD 9.6 billion for various rotary wing aircraft, including USD 2.7 billion for V-22 tilt-rotor planes built by Boeing and Bell.

He also said that Bell plans to sell the V-22 to the overseas market after they free up some capacity from its production site from 2014 or 2015. Garrison declined to name specific markets where the company hope to sell the plane.

"We are working with our partners and the United States government to market the V-22 around the world We will have capacity as requirements drop in 2014, 2015 on the V-22."

Asian Opportunities

Garrison, who just arrived from Indonesia before his trip to the city state, said the company is in talks over a number of potential transactions in the region that he hoped to finalise this year.

"We are seeing activities in this region, this region was the last into the economic crisis and it is actually leading the economic crisis out, so out of all the regions in the world we think this is the one with opportunities to grow in 2010."

"We are having success in the oil and gas sector, in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia," he added.

The growing number of high net-worth individuals in this region also created demand for personal air transportation, which help support the commercial segment of the company.

The wealth of high net worth individuals in Asia-Pacific region is seen climbing 8.8% a year for the next 10 years, according to Merrill Lynch/Capgemini.