WINNIPEG,
Oct. 15, 2012 /CNW/ - (TSX: NFI)
(TSX: NFI.DB.U) New Flyer Industries Inc. ("New Flyer" or the
"Company"), the leading manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in
Canada and the United States, announced order activity
for the third fiscal quarter ended September
30, 2012 ("Q3 2012").
Order Activity
The New Flyer order activity increased during Q3
2012 as new firm orders of 357 equivalent units ("EUs") with a
total value of $137.9 million,
increased significantly compared to firm orders of 12 EUs valued at
$4.3 million in third fiscal quarter
ended October 2, 2011 ("Q3 2011").
There were also 90 EUs of new options awarded in Q3 2012 which is
comparable to the 90 EUs of options received in Q3 2011. In
addition, the Company was also successful at converting options
comprised of 224 EUs with a total value of $117.3 million as compared to 328 EUs
($131.7 million) in Q3 2011.
Deliveries of 386 EUs in Q3 2012 decreased
compared to 442 EUs in Q3 2011 as a result of a previously
announced delay in receiving a notice to proceed ("NTP") from a
large U.S. customer for an order of 90 Xcelsior 60-foot articulated
buses or 180 EUs which caused an adjustment to the production
schedule. The NTP has now been received and production has
begun.
Order
Backlog |
2012
(Current Year) |
2011
(Prior Year) |
(EUs) |
Firm orders |
Options |
Firm orders |
Options |
Ending Backlog - Q2 |
1,267 |
4,946 |
1,887 |
6,384 |
New orders in Q3 |
357 |
90 |
12 |
90 |
Options exercised |
224 |
(224) |
328 |
(328) |
Deliveries |
(386) |
- |
(442) |
- |
Cancelled/expired options |
- |
(68) |
- |
(206) |
Ending Backlog - Q3 |
1,462 |
4,744 |
1,785 |
5,940 |
As noted in the company's September 17, 2012 press release, the total
backlog combined with the recent order intake is expected to allow
New Flyer to average a production line entry rate of approximately
34 EUs per week for fiscal 2012. Management expects the line
entry rate during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2012 will average
approximately 36 EUs per week. This line entry rate reflects twelve
weeks of production as the Company does not plan to line enter new
buses into production during the winter holiday period occurring
the last six days of this year.
At the end of the period, firm and option orders
of 402 new buses (472 EUs) for New Flyer were pending from a number
of customers where approval had been granted by the customer's
board, council, or commission, as applicable, but purchase
documentation had not yet been received by the Company and
therefore not yet included in the backlog.
Total Backlog
The total backlog at the end of Q3 2012 is 6,206
EUs with a total value of $2.64
billion. The decline in the backlog appears to be slowing as
it has decreased by 0.3% from the backlog at the end of the second
fiscal quarter of 2012 ("Q2 2012") as compared to the 19.4%
decrease from the backlog at the end of Q3 2011. New Flyer's
backlog consists of the following mix of products, with clean
propulsion vehicles (such as, hybrid, CNG, LNG, Trolley,
all-electric), representing approximately 65% of the total:
|
Firm EUs |
Option EUs |
Total |
35/40 foot buses |
622 |
2,148 |
2,770 |
60 foot buses |
840 |
2,596 |
3,436 |
Total Backlog |
1,462 |
4,744 |
6,206 |
In the first three fiscal quarters of 2012 ("YTD
2012"), 187 option EUs expired or 3.0% of the total New Flyer
backlog. Remaining options included in the total backlog will
expire, if not exercised, as follows:
Option year of expiry |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
2017 |
Total Options |
Remaining Option (EUs) |
549 |
3,116 |
423 |
510 |
56 |
90 |
4,744 |
New Flyer Bid Universe
The New Flyer bid universe is a summary of the
EUs for: all bids received and in process at New Flyer, bids
submitted and awaiting customer action and management's forecast of
all expected EUs to be ordered over the next five years. The bid
universe was created by management in 2008 as an indicator of
management's forecast for overall market demand and bid
activity.
|
Bids in Process |
Bids Submitted |
Expected Future
Industry
Procurement |
Total |
Q3 2011 |
611 |
2,097 |
8,692 |
11,400 |
Q4 2011 |
1,848 |
2,186 |
9,266 |
13,300 |
Q1 2012 |
2,390 |
3,107 |
9,603 |
15,100 |
Q2 2012 |
2,156 |
4,574 |
8,454 |
15,184 |
Q3 2012 |
3,984 |
2,542 |
11,854 |
18,380 |
In addition to the increased bid universe
activity over the last year, management believes the overall
transit market continues to show some positive signs.
Preliminary data from the September 19,
2012 data alert issued by the Rockefeller Institute on U.S.
state tax collections shows an increase in the second quarter of
2012 for the 10th consecutive quarter, with a reported
3.0% increase over the prior year.
The latest data from the American Public
Transportation Association's (APTA) ridership report indicated an
increase of 1.62% in all modes of U.S. transit ridership during the
second quarter of 2012 compared with the previous year, with bus
ridership specifically up by 0.7%.
In the aftermarket, gross orders received during
Q3 2012 for New Flyer core parts sales increased by 9.8% compared
to Q3 2011 and increased 11.5% compared to Q2 2012. Gross
orders during YTD 2012 were up 2.7% at $86.8
million compared to $84.5
million for the same period in 2011.
NOTE: All dollar amounts are stated in US
currency based on an exchange rate of US $1.00 = CAD $0.983
to calculate the value of the Canadian contracts in this
release.
About New Flyer
New Flyer is the leading manufacturer of
heavy-duty transit buses in Canada
and the United States. The
Company's three manufacturing facilities - in Winnipeg, MB; St.
Cloud, MN and Crookston, MN
- are all ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001 certified. The
Company currently operates a parts fabrication facility in
Elkhart, IN and four parts
distribution centers in Winnipeg,
MB; Brampton, ON;
Erlanger, KY and Fresno, CA. The Company also operates a
service center in Arnprior,
ON.
With a skilled workforce of over 2,000
employees, New Flyer is a technology leader, offering the broadest
product line in the industry, including drive systems powered by
clean diesel, LNG, CNG and electric trolley as well as
energy-efficient diesel-electric hybrid vehicles. New Flyer
has delivered over 32,000 heavy-duty buses in Canada and the
United States. All products are supported with an
industry-leading, comprehensive parts and service network.
Further information is available on New Flyer's web site at
www.newflyer.com.
The common shares and convertible unsecured
subordinated debentures of New Flyer are traded on the Toronto
Stock Exchange under the symbols NFI and NFI.DB.U,
respectively.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking
statements relating to expected future events and financial and
operating results of the Company that involve risks and
uncertainties. Although the forward-looking statements
contained in this press release are based upon what management
believes to be reasonable assumptions, investors cannot be assured
that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking
statements, and the differences may be material. Actual
results may differ materially from management expectations as
projected in such forward-looking statements for a variety of
reasons, including market and general economic conditions and
economic conditions of and funding availability for customers to
purchase buses and to purchase parts or services, customers may not
exercise options to purchase additional buses, the ability of
customers to terminate contracts for convenience and the other
risks and uncertainties discussed in the materials filed with the
Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available on SEDAR
at www.sedar.com. Due to the potential impact of these
factors, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless
required by applicable law.
SOURCE New Flyer Industries Inc.