Sep. 10--Textron has been pulled back from the financial precipice after slashing 10,000 jobs, including 135 corporate positions announced Wednesday, rapidly liquidating its loan portfolio and raising new capital, company officials told investors.

Top executives of Textron, the parent of Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter, said that the company has significantly improved its cash outlook and that its businesses should resume growth in 2010 as the U.S. economy improves. Textron, which saw its stock (ticker: TXT) tumble from more than $72 a share in late 2007 to a low of $3.57 a share in March, is "a darn good investment story" after months of restructuring, CEO Lewis Campbell said at a New York conference that was also webcast.

The company said it is on target to meet its full-year profit forecast of 33 cents to 63 cents a share, before special charges.

Textron officials said they were ahead of schedule liquidating loans and other assets held by Textron Financial Corp. and should have significantly more cash on hand at year's end than projected a few months ago. The company also raised $775 million in new capital and obtained $500 million in U.S. Export-Import Bank financing to boost export sales, primarily of Bell and Cessna aircraft.

The recession dramatically cut into orders and deliveries of new business jets at Cessna, Textron's biggest subsidiary, and has also affected Bell's commercial helicopter business.

Campbell said both units have made the necessary cost cuts, including layoffs of nearly 8,000 workers at Cessna, nearly half of that operation's work force, and "when the economy comes back I think we're poised for strong growth." Textron's manufacturing units, of which Cessna and Bell are the two largest, should see 8 to 10 percent revenue growth over the next four years, Campbell said.

Those forecasts "look aggressive," JPMorgan analyst Stephen Tusa wrote in a note to investors.

Textron shares closed Wednesday at $18.41 a share, up 43 cents.

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