ATR Falls Short of 2018 Delivery Target Amid Iran Sanctions

   By Robert Wall

European turboprop maker ATR, a joint venture between Airbus SE (AIR.FR) and Leonardo SpA (LDO.MI), said Thursday that plane deliveries declined last year and fell short of targets after handovers to Iran Air were disrupted by the U.S. re-imposing sanctions on Iran.

Toulouse, France-based company ATR said it delivered 76 aircraft in 2018. It had a target of shipping 80 planes last year, on par with 2017 deliveries. Sales, though, remained flat at $1.8 billion, the company said in a statement.

Iran Air in 2017 placed an order with ATR, or Avions de Transport Regional, for 20 turboprops after the U.S. and other countries in 2016 agreed to lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic in return for curbs on its nuclear program. The Trump Administration last year re-imposed sanctions. ATR delivered most of the planes to Iran Air before the U.S. sanctions hit but warned the fallout could cause it to miss its full-year plane delivery target.

ATR said it has now been able to reallocate the undelivered Iran Air planes to other buyers.

Order intake at ATR, which can be volatile, fell sharply with only 52 new firm orders in 2018. It secured 113 such commitments the year prior and 36 in 2016.

ATR said it won about 62% of the turboprop orders placed last year. Its principal competitor, Bombardier Inc. (BBD.A.T)is in the process of selling its turboprop operations to Longview Aviation Capital Corp., the parent of Canadian aircraft maker Viking Air Ltd., for about $300 million.

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 31, 2019 05:14 ET (10:14 GMT)

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