Bloomberg — Embraer () has been following a different path from its biggest rivals, in which it keeps its factories operating and the flow of deliveries.
The company starts 2025 at a strong pace, after deliveries increased 14% last year — the biggest increase on the Brazilian Stock Exchange —, while the credit rating reached investment grade by risk rating agencies.
The performance occurred despite the serious macroeconomic obstacles faced by Brazil, including a double-digit interest rate and currency devaluation.
“Let’s continue with the sell, sell, sell [vender, vender, vender]we want to fill the production slots in the following years, so it will be a very big focus”, said the company’s CEO, Francisco Gomes Neto, in an interview with Bloomberg News.
He added that this year’s results will be even better than those the company will release for the closed year of 2024.
The world’s third-largest plane maker has long-term ambitions to take on the global duopoly of Boeing and Airbus, but its smaller aircraft and size make it a distant – albeit distinct – competitor.
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Industry experts say Embraer has benefited from a reputation for engineering excellence and a solid track record of designing new planes on tight budgets and deadlines.
Five years after Boeing abandoned its plan to buy the commercial arm of the Brazilian giant, the company based in São José dos Campos (SP) is thriving on its own in the global private and regional jet market and has become one of the biggest stories of success in Latin America.
The performance is in stark contrast to that of its biggest rivals, as Boeing works to rebuild after a brutal year and Airbus factories face persistent supply chain obstacles.
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The dynamic could open doors for Embraer to expand its portfolio. Neto, who has led the company since 2019, told Bloomberg News that a new aircraft program is not a priority in the short term. But last October it was hinted that Embraer was studying a new jet to compete with Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’ A320.
For now, the company is focused on its current portfolio, while at the same time looking for ways to stabilize its production cadence. Historically, deliveries tend to peak in the last quarter of the year, but Neto said he wants to balance this out throughout the year.
“Another thing we are going to make progress on this year is the leveling of production”, especially after the first three months of the year, said the executive, who added that the following quarters will be “much more balanced”.
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Industry analysts are confident that the company has room to grow further across all segments, with stronger margins coming from commercial aviation and an increase in orders on the defense front, benefiting from a challenging global geopolitical scenario.
The company delivered 206 aircraft, of which more than half were private jets. will increase this number in 2025, delivering up to 220 commercial aircraft and private jets. Military aircraft are also a positive point for Embraer.
Its Super Tucano attack aircraft has received orders from several nations – from Paraguay to Portugal – and the C-390 Millennium has secured buyers in Europe and Asia, including a recent order from South Korea. The company still hopes to expand its military business with the US.
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“Defense budgets around the world are increasing, geopolitics are more complicated than ever and there is very good scope for more orders,” said Stephen Trent, an analyst at Citi, who has a buy recommendation on the company’s shares. .
Imports from North America – mainly from the USA – represented around 56% of Embraer’s components in recent years and the company also exports to the USA. This bilateral trade relationship represents a risk if President-elect Donald Trump applies new tariffs and Brazil retaliates in kind.
But Neto downplayed the threat, saying a trade war would harm companies in both countries. “We can’t say what will happen, but we trust common sense on both sides,” he said.
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