The Company's Turn-Around Strategy Continues...
Impressively
The recent GAMA stats produced reasons to think positively
about the future of aviation... along with a few low points, most
notably the slight downturn in piston aircraft sales. So, at a time
when General Aviation's overall piston-aircraft deliveries are down
by 16 percent for the first half of this year, Piper Aircraft
underscored its string of successes with ANN by disclosing that its
piston aircraft deliveries are up 18 percent. The company also
announced that overall deliveries for the first half of 2008 are up
13 percent over the same period last year and that its PA-46,
luxury aircraft models are registering record deliveries.
"In the last three years, Piper has moved forward on virtually
every front - from new product introductions to strong sales, from
strategic alliances to breaking into an entirely new segment with
our all-new PiperJet," said Piper President & CEO James K.
Bass. "We are a modern-day, American success story: a company that
relies on American workers to provide the next generation aircraft
for the world."
Piper's current piston increases are driven by the unparalleled
success of its all new Piper Matrix, a cabin-class, six-seat
aircraft based on the world-renowned Malibu Mirage and operating
with the economy of an unpressurized aircraft. That success
accounted in part for deliveries of 98 piston aircraft in the first
half of 2008 against 83 piston aircraft for the same period last
year. Of that total, 48 - or more than half - were from deliveries
of the Piper Matrix, which the company began delivering this year.
Moreover, deliveries of Piper PA-46 models combined (Meridian,
Mirage and Matrix) are at record levels.
"We have orders for 101 Matrix models this year," Bass said.
"The Piper Matrix fills a niche in the market that hasn't been
truly addressed until now. To date, our entire first year of
production is sold out and market demand continues to be very
strong. At the same time, deliveries of our flagship turboprop, the
Piper Meridian, continue unabated, with 20 aircraft for the first
half of this year and an expected 53 deliveries in total for 2008.
These deliveries have continued at the same strong levels as those
in 2007."
In all, Piper delivered 118 aircraft with $92,782,802 in
billings in the first half of 2008, compared with 104 aircraft and
$78,967,711 in billings in the first half of 2007.
Piper's announcement comes on the heels of last week's first
flight of the revolutionary PiperJet - the first pure, jet-powered,
turbofan design in the company's 71-year history. The PiperJet took
flight last Wednesday at 11:11 AM from Piper Headquarters in Vero
Beach, Fla.
"With first flight of the PiperJet," Bass said, "Piper Aircraft
marks the beginning of a new era by literally taking flight into a
whole new realm of large-cabin luxury, performance, capability and
single-engine efficiencies. With this major milestone in the
PiperJet's development, we are witnessing our future - one that is
built on a strong and lasting heritage and reputation for
innovation and excellence."
Bass underscored Piper's achievements during the past three years
as an index of the company's success and key to its
rejuvenation.
"Beyond our product successes, we have rebounded from the
problems the company faced after the hurricanes in 2004," he said,
referring to three hurricanes in quick succession that left the
company with significant damage. "It's a tribute to our workforce
and the commitment of the men and women of Piper that we not only
rebounded rapidly, but have evolved into an even stronger company.
We are not only fully recovered from the hurricanes, our
headquarters is in the midst of major renovation and modernization.
Moreover, the hardening we put into place when we restored
buildings after the hurricanes makes our current facilities
stronger than ever -capable of withstanding potential storms or
hurricanes in the future. While we are faced with many challenges
in a tough market, Piper is delighted by its performance and works
continuously to improve all aspects of the business."
The company's management team - newly appointed at all its most
senior executive positions in the last three years - has
orchestrated and managed a turn-around that has rebuilt the company
into a renewed player within General Aviation.
"We have reached out and renewed relationships or formed new
partnerships with some of the best companies within and outside our
industry," Bass (pictured below) said. "We selected Williams
International to provide the powerplant for our new PiperJet, and
the Williams FJ44-3AP engine is a perfect example of the attention
to performance that we have designed into the PiperJet. At the
same, we selected Garmin International, Inc. to provide the
avionics suite for the PiperJet, with navigation, situational
awareness and system information delivered through state-of-the art
technologies.
"Our previously announced Business Alliance with Honda - to
collaborate on sales and service, and to explore opportunities in
engineering and other areas within general and business aviation -
continues strong," he said, "and we are seeing mutual advantage in
a number of areas. We also have signed a joint $32 million
development agreement with the State of Florida and Indian River
County - our home community - to expand the company's
infrastructure, capabilities and expertise."
Bass said Piper is, in many ways, a new company.
"We are, however, a new company fueled by a venerable heritage,"
he said. "We know where we've been and what milestones we have
accomplished. And we know where we're going. We truly are the
inheritors of a great legacy, and we are inspired by the knowledge
that our best days are ahead of us."