Seattle: Boeing Co. profit rose as the 787 Dreamliner emerged from a decade of losses and helped the plane maker weather a turbulent market for wide-body jetliners.
Adjusted earnings were $2.47 a share, despite an accounting loss for an aerial tanker programme, the company said on Wednesday in a statement. That exceeded the $2.32 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 1.2 per cent to $23.3 billion (Dh85.5 billion), compared with analysts’ projection of $23.1 billion. Free cash flow was $2.23 billion, while analysts had expected $2.02 billion.
Boeing has pledged to repurchase shares and bolster its dividend as a near-record order backlog shelters the manufacturer from market shocks. The Chicago-based company is counting on improving Dreamliner profitability, resurgent defence spending and a new family of 737 jets to counteract rising trade tensions with China and a glut of older twin-aisle jets.
Still, revenue will fall to a range of $90.5 billion to $92.5 billion this year, Boeing said, as the company slows production of the wide-body 777 this month and in the third quarter because of an order shortfall. Analysts had expected annual sales of $93 billion.
While the cuts will mean fewer deliveries of the 777, one of Boeing’s main profit drivers, the company is sticking by its promise of cash and profit growth. Operating cash flow will be about $10.8 billion, up from the $10.5 billion generated in 2016. Earnings adjusted for pension expenses will probably be $9.10 to $9.30 a share this year, compared with the $9.24 predicted by analysts.
Boeing expects to deliver between 760 and 765 commercial aeroplanes, compared with 748 last year.
The shares rose 1.1 per cent to $162.30 at 7:36am in New York, before the start of regular trading. Boeing climbed 29 per cent during the 12 months ending Tuesday, compared with a 21 per cent gain for the S&P 500 Index.
