São Paulo, March 18, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - Embraer, the world's fourth largest manufacturer of commerical aircraft, registered a profit of US$ 201.98 million (R$ 587.7 million) in 2003, somewhat more than half of 2002's profit of US$ 340 million (R$ 1.17 billion). Earnings fell 15.2%, from US$ 2.4 billion (R$ 7.7 billion) in 2002 to US$ 2.06 billion (R$ 6.5 billion) in 2003. According to the company, the earnings drop was due as much to the depreciation of the dollar as to the decline in orders. Expenses were reduced 13.9%, from US$ 410 million (R$ 1.2 billion) in 2002 to US$ 370 million (R$ 1.1 billion) in 2003.

Embraer informed that 2003 was a difficult year for the aviation industry worldwide. The growth of the world economy was lower than expected, which, combined with the effects of the war in Iraq and the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), led to further postponement of a full recovery in global air travel.

Translator: David Silberstein