(Adds details on 2018 EBIT and 2020 revenue forecast, background)
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Canadian plane and train maker Bombardier Inc BBDb.TO on Thursday forecast 2018 revenue to be $17.0 billion to $17.5 billion, well below analysts' expectations.
Analysts on average had expected revenue of $18.37 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. is in the middle of a five-year turnaround program to boost margins and reduce costs after years of heavy investments on two new aircraft programs led it to consider bankruptcy in 2015.
In October this year, Bombardier agreed to sell a controlling stake in its CSeries jetliner program to Airbus SE AIR.PA , a move it said would boost sales, cut costs and give the Canadian firm a possible way out of a potentially damaging trade dispute with Boeing (NYSE:BA) Co BA.N .
Montreal-based Bombardier is expecting its free cash flow to break even in 2018, plus or minus $150 million, the company said ahead of its investor day scheduled to begin 3:00 p.m. ET.
Bombardier also said it expected 2018 earnings before interest and tax before special items to be between $800 million and $900 million.
The company also set a target of more than $20 billion in revenue for 2020, which excludes the contribution of CSeries.