Covid-19: CAE's defence revenue falls again on virus impact

Revenue in CAE’s Defence and Security segment declined for the second straight quarter as the coronavirus disease continued to take its toll, the Canadian simulation and training company said on 12 August.

Revenue in Canadian simulation and training company CAE’s Defence and Security segment declined for the second straight quarter. (Getty Images)

The segment’s revenue totalled CAD280.2 million (USD211.5 million) in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2021, down 13% from the same period in FY 2020. The drop followed a 12% contraction in the fourth quarter of FY 2020.

Travel bans, border restrictions, client access restrictions, and supply chain disruptions have all delayed defence programmes, including the achievement of key milestones, CAE said. The pandemic also has hampered the award of new government contracts.

Marc Parent, CAE’s president and CEO, said his company’s C-130 aircraft training centre in Tampa, Florida, has been hit harder by the current Covid-19 resurgence than it was by the early days of the pandemic in March and April.

The Defence and Security segment had an operating loss of CAD9.2 million in the first quarter, compared with operating income of CAD15.1 million in the same period a year earlier.

Including CAE’s Civil Aviation Training Solutions and Healthcare segments, total company revenue plunged 33% to CAD550.5 million in the first quarter of FY 2021. CAE had a net loss of CAD110.6 million, compared with net income of CAD61.5 million a year earlier.