Boeing net declines as deliveries fall

New York: Boeing Co., the world's second-biggest commercial-jet builder, posted a 21 per cent drop in second-quarter profit after delivering fewer planes.

Net income fell to $787 million (Dh2.8 billion), or $1.06 a share, from $998 million, or $1.41, a year earlier. Sales declined 9.2 per cent to $15.6 billion, the Chicago-based company said in a statement yesterday.

Production gap

Boeing, which gets the bulk of its payments upon delivery, shipped 8.8 per cent fewer planes in the period amid a production gap between a new and old jumbo-jet model and delays due to defective seats from a supplier. The company also began cutting output of the 777.

"We were expecting lighter revenue given the lower commercial-aircraft deliveries," said Peter Arment, a Gleacher & Co. analyst in Greenwich, Connecticut, who recommends buying the stock. "The production ramp continues unabated and that ultimately is going to drive the earnings momentum at Boeing."