Bombardier says CSeries on track; adjusted profit rises

Bombardier Inc said on Thursday its CSeries jetliner was on track to make its first flight in June, and the world's No. 4 commercial aircraft maker reported a 4 percent rise in first-quarter adjusted profit.

The single-aisle plane, with seating for up to 160 passengers, represents the Canadian company's attempt to break into the lower end of the lucrative 100-to-200-seat aircraft market dominated by Boeing Co and Airbus .

Bombardier said it had commitments for 388 CSeries aircraft as of March 31, including 145 firm orders from nine customers in eight countries.

The CSeries tests are progressing well, Chief Executive Pierre Beaudoin said in a statement.

The CSeries claims a 15 percent cash operating cost advantage and 20 percent fuel burn advantage over the Boeing and Airbus models. Its airframe is lighter.

The Montreal-based company is under pressure to meet its targets of 300 firm orders and 20 customers by mid-2014.

Bombardier, which is also the world's biggest train manufacturer, said its first-quarter net profit fell 5 percent to $148 million, or 8 cents per share, from a year earlier.

On an adjusted basis, net income rose to $156 million from $150 million.

Total revenue rose 25 percent to $4.3 billion.

Revenue in Bombardier's aerospace unit, which makes business, commercial and amphibious aircraft, jumped 53 percent to $2.3 billion.

Revenue in the transportation unit, which makes trains, rose 15 percent to $2.1 billion.

(Reporting by Solarina Ho in Toronto and Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)