Bombardier forecasts 2018 revenue below analysts' estimates

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc, in the middle of a five-year plan to turn around its ailing business, on Thursday forecast 2018 revenue that came in well short of analysts' estimates.

The company said it expects revenue of $17.0 billion to $17.5 billion in 2018, well below the average analyst estimate of $18.37 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

As part of restructuring plans, Bombardier is cutting costs to boost margins after years of heavy investments on two new aircraft programs led it to consider bankruptcy in 2015.

The Montreal-based company said it expects free cash flow to break even in 2018, plus or minus $150 million, and earnings before interest, tax and special items to be between $800 million and $900 million.

The company is scheduled to hold its investor day at 3:00 p.m. ET.

In October, Bombardier agreed to sell a controlling stake in its troubled CSeries jetliner program to Airbus SE, a move it said would boost sales, cut costs and give it a possible way out of a potentially damaging trade dispute with Boeing Co.

In its commercial aircraft unit, Bombardier said it was targeting the delivery of 40 CSeries and 35 CRJ and Q400 aircraft in 2018, up from the overall 50 it has targeted this year. However, it expects the business to book a loss of $350 million before interest and tax.

The company also set a target of more than $20 billion in revenue for 2020, which excludes the contribution of CSeries.

Bombardier's shares have risen more than 51 percent this year. Shares of companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange do not trade before markets open.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan and Allison Lampert; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)