Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

January 28, 2025

Raytheon hopes to wrap up Pratt’s geared turbofan engine repair program in 2026

Submitted | Pratt & Whitney Employees of the Mirabel Flight Test Center, in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada inspect the PurePower Geared Turbofan PW1900G engine as it runs in preparation for its inaugural flight on Pratt & Whitney's 747SP flying test bed.

Pratt & Whitney’s parent company Raytheon says it hopes to be able to wrap up the financial impact of repair issues with the troubled geared turbofan engine in 2026.

In 2023, Pratt & Whitney announced that more than 1,000 of its engines needed to be removed and re-inspected after the discovery of microscopic cracks due to a defect in a powder metal coating.

The condition affected engines built for the Airbus A320neo between 2015 and 2021. Working with airlines to inspect engines and correct the faults has cost Pratt several billion dollars so far.

During a conference call with analysts to discuss the company’s fourth quarter earnings, Raytheon CEO Chris Calio said the number of aircraft grounded by the issue has remained stable, as the company has increased its maintenance, repair and overhaul capacity. 

“We need to continue to ramp output to bend the curve here as we work our way through 2025,” he said, with the company aiming to achieve more than 30% growth in its repair program.

‘The supply chain is going to be instrumental in helping us get there, and we’ve continued to see improvement there,” he added.

Pratt spent $1.1 billion on agreements with airline customers to correct the issues last year, and says it expects to see an impact of between $1.1 and $1.3 billion for 2025. However, it expects that 2026 will be the last year when it needs to set aside cash for the repair program.

“We want to make sure we manage the cash carefully on this program,” said Chief Financial Officer Neil Mitchill. “We’re happy with where we are with the customer agreements that we have in place right now.”

During the fourth quarter of 2024, Pratt reported sales of $7.6 billion, up 18% over the prior year period. The increase was driven by a 31% increase in commercial sales, a 17% increase in commercial aftermarket, and an 8% increase in military engines, the company said. 

Pratt’s operating profits were up 32% versus the prior year to $504 million. 
 

Sign up for Enews

0 Comments

Order a PDF