Riding a wave of renewed demand for air travel, Raytheon Technologies Corp. saw its second quarter net income surge by 168% compared to an anemic 2020.
The Waltham, Massachusetts-based aerospace and defense conglomerate, which has a major presence in Greater Hartford, on Tuesday reported adjusted earnings of $1.56 billion, or $1.03 per share, up from $583 million, or 39 cents per share, in the corresponding period one year prior. Total sales climbed by 12%, from $14.22 billion in the second quarter of 2020 to $15.88 billion in the second quarter of 2021.
During a conference call with analysts Tuesday morning, CEO Gregory J. Hayes said airlines are ramping up orders in anticipation of a post-COVID explosion in travel, while manufacturers such as Boeing are rushing to capitalize on the rollout of their new passenger aircraft. Those trends have resulted in increased business for subsidiaries Collins Aerospace, which produces avionics, cabin interiors and power and control systems, and East Hartford-based jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney.
Both segments saw a steep drop in earnings at the height of the pandemic, when airlines grounded most of their planes and shop visits and repair orders all but ceased.
Neil Mitchill, Raytheon Technologies’ chief financial officer, said the aerospace market still has a considerable amount of ground to make up. Some important international borders remain closed, Mitchill noted, and many long-haul routes, especially those linking the U.S. and East Asia, are still shut down.
Hayes predicted a return to pre-pandemic air traffic by 2024 but said that forecast will depend on vaccination rates around the world. While about half of all U.S. adults are now vaccinated, he noted, that figure is much smaller globally.
“We’ve got a long way to go,” Hayes said. “But we’re optimistic we could see a more robust recovery if vaccination continues at this rate.”
Raytheon Technologies’ defense business, which includes its space, intelligence and missile units, has been largely insulated from the effects of the coronavirus due to a healthy U.S. defense budget, and it continued to post strong results between April and June. Hayes said those segments, which handle numerous classified projects, are focusing on developing weapons for future conflicts that will be fought in cyberspace and outer space.
