Boeing profit soars as it bumps up delivery and revenue forecasts
While Airbus reported dipping profits earlier today, rival Boeing has reported third quarter results that beat profit and sales expectations, boosted by a tax benefit. It reported a 33.7 per cent rise in quarterly profit.
The figures
Boeing earned $2.28bn or $3.60 a share, up from $1.7bn in the same period a year ago. Core earnings rose to $3.51 per share from $2.52.
Revenue fell eight per cent to $23.9bn from $25.8bn. The company has though, increased its revenue guidance by $500m to between $93.5 and $95.5bn on higher commercial deliveries.
The aircraft giant expects to deliver 745-750 commercial airplanes which is an increase on its previous forecast of 740-745 and would bump up revenue by $500m.
Shares, which had been up 5.5 per cent this month, rose another 1.6 per cent in pre-market trading.
Why it’s interesting
There have been investor concerns creeping up that the time of surging commercial jet deals may have peaked. While there’s no shortage of orders, question marks had been cropping up over both Boeing and Airbus’ delivery of their jetliner and defence programmes.
In March, Boeing said it was planning to cut up to 10 per cent of its workforce – as many as 4,000 jobs in the US this year.
With Airbus announcing results earlier today and its commercial aircraft chief Fabrice Bregier recently making the claim that his company would overtake Boeing in terms of annual deliveries by 2020, the battle of the aerospace giants remains one to watch.
What Boeing said
Chairman and chief executive Dennis Muilenburg said:
Solid operating performance across our commercial and defence and space businesses in the third quarter again generated strong cash flow for Boeing, which continues to fuel investments in our future and enable us to deliver compelling returns to our shareholders.
We also captured key orders, reinforcing the strength of our large and diverse order backlog.
We achieved key milestones on the 737 MAX, 787-10 and other development programmes, including the first KC-46 production contracts. Our teams remain focused on completing these development efforts and delivering better capabilities and economics to customers around the world.
We remain on track to deliver on our full-year commitments. At the same time, we are positioning Boeing for further growth through our intense focus on productivity, quality and safety across the company.