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Bloomberg
Boeing Co. profit rose as the 787 Dreamliner emerged from a decade of losses and helped the planemaker weather a turbulent market for wide-body jetliners.
Adjusted earnings were $2.47 a share, despite an accounting loss for an aerial tanker program, the company said on Wednesday in a statement. That exceeded the $2.32 average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 1.2 percent to $23.3 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 defense 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.
Boeing expects to deliver between 760 and 765 commercial airplanes, compared with 748 last year. The shares rose 1.1 percent to $162.30 in New York. Boeing climbed 29 percent during the 12 months, compared with a 21 percent gain for the S&P 500 Index.