Embraer’s executive aviation division logged net sales of $1.1 billion in 2010, according to figures released in late March. Deliveries totaled 145 business jets, compared with 115 in 2009.

The increase in deliveries is most evident in the jump from one Phenom 300 in December 2009, shortly after the light jet was certified, to 26 last year. Deliveries of the Lineage 1000, based on the E190 airliner platform, totaled eight last year, five more than in 2009.

At the high end of the business jet line, said president and CEO Frederico Curado, “All but one of our Lineage 1000 sales have been to the Middle East,” but he predicts that continued instability in that region will bring higher fuel costs for operators.

“The Phenom 100’s success is also reflected in the company’s increasing market share,” which Embraer also noted in the annual statement “is the fastest growing in business aviation in terms of units delivered.”

The Brazilian OEM anticipates a slightly better year in 2011, with net sales by its executive aviation division expected to reach $1.2 billion. This year, Embraer’s new $50 million Phenom assembly plant in Melbourne, Fla., will deliver its first Phenom 100 and deliveries of the Legacy 650 (which began in December) will gain speed. The new midsize Legacy 500 is slated to fly later this year.

Embraer’s 2010 year-end results show recovered stability, according to Curado. The company sees business aviation improving again this year and contributing about 20 percent to the company’s overall revenue, which it expects will rise 5 percent.

Finally, Embraer is exploring the possibility of assembling the Legacy 650 in its plant in Harbin, China, where in April it assembled it’s the last ERJ145 fifty-seat regional airliner for the Chinese market. The Legacy 650 is based on the ERJ135 platform, a shorter variant of the 145. The ERJ135 is no longer in production except for reconfiguration as the Legacy 650.

Some analysts anticipated a formal announcement of such an agreement during a state visit to China by Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff in mid-April.

In March Embraer signed a memorandum of understanding on aircraft financing and leasing with Agricultural Bank of China subsidiary ABC Financial Leasing that could be worth as much as $1.5 billion (U.S.) over the next five years. Financing would not be limited to aircraft either produced or purchased in China.