Boeing’s flurry of deliveries spurs best month in four years

Bloomberg

Boeing Co closed 2022 with its best month of deliveries in four years, buoying the planemaker’s cash and signalling that its recovery is gaining momentum.
The company said that it handed over 69 jets in December — including 54 from its cash-cow 737 family — and recorded 250 gross orders. The performance gave Boeing 387 deliveries of the narrow-body jetliner model for the year, a dozen more than executives had predicted.
Boeing’s recent turnaround has propelled its shares, which have soared about 72% since the end of September to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Rival Airbus SE has risen 32% over the same stretch, even though it outsold and produced more aircraft than Boeing.
Despite a strong December, Boeing’s tally of 480 deliveries for the full year is poised to fall short of its European counterpart’s when Airbus releases figures. Through the end of November, Airbus had already handed over 565 aircraft, locking up bragging rights as world’s largest planemaker for a fourth consecutive year.
Boeing recorded 808 sales in 2022, net of cancellations and a US accounting provision for deals that are at risk. Airbus had 825 net orders as of the end of November, boosted by a 292-jet deal with China’s biggest airlines in July.
Both manufacturers have struggled to make good on sales commitments as the pandemic has eased, leaving them with shortages of components and skilled workers. Boeing still managed to deliver 10 of its 787 Dreamliners last month while it slows work in its South Carolina factories to deal with late-arriving shipments from Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc.
The December delivery totals support Boeing’s guidance for $2.5 billion of free cash flow in the fourth quarter, Sheila Kahyaoglu of Jefferies wrote in a January 9 note. She projects Boeing’s cash will rise to $3.8 billion this year, while the planemaker expands its jet shipments by 17% from 2022 totals. Boeing is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings on January 25.