Boeing shares fell 2.5% as production challenges impacted third-quarter results. The company reported an adjusted loss of 34 cents per share. CEO Kelly Ortberg said, "We have a stronger foundation than a year ago, but we also have more work to do." High costs and supply chain issues slowed jetliner output.
Shares of the US planemaker fell 2.5% in premarket trading even as Boeing continues to recover from years of crises and controversies that dented its reputation, drained cash and saddled it with a heavy debt load.
Sign up here.
During the quarter, Boeing secured certification for the 737 MAX 7 from US regulators, won the US Navy's sixth-generation F/A-XX fighter contract and generated free cash flow for another quarter, while certification of the larger MAX 10 followed in October.
"Expectations are rising, and they should. We have a stronger foundation than a year ago, but we also have more work to do to deliver on our backlog, strengthen our culture, and improve how we work every day," CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a memo to employees after the results.
Boeing reported an adjusted loss of 34 cents per share for the quarter through September, compared with market expectation of 21 cents, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Revenue at Boeing Commercial Airplanes dipped slightly to $10.7 billion, while operating loss stood at $697 million and margin shrank by just 6.5% compared with a contraction of 48.3% a year ago.
The company attributed the performance to less profitable jetliner deliveries and higher production costs, including from its supply chain.
Boeing has struggled to increase 737 output from 42 jets a month to 47, which it hoped to hit during the summer. It has not been able to make wings fast enough, CEO Kelly Ortberg said at an industrial conference in September.
At Boeing's defense division, higher deliveries, improved operational performance and a $252-million sale of a subsidiary contributed to nearly $500 million in quarterly earnings with an operating margin of 6.2%, up from 1.7% a year ago.
Boeing Global Services earned $1 billion and posted an operating margin of 18.3%.
The US planemaker ended the quarter with $25.2 billion in net debt, down slightly from $25.9 billion in the previous three months and $30.4 billion a year ago.
Reporting by Dan Catchpole in Seattle and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Lincoln Feast and Arun Koyyur
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
Dan Catchpole reports on Boeing and the aerospace industry from Seattle, as part of Reuters' aerospace team. Covering aerospace means reporting on a wide array of topics. In his first few months at Reuters, Dan had covered a labor strike, two airplane crashes, wildfire water bombers, supply chain woes, potential tariffs and airplane production. He previously worked at daily newspapers and industry publications.
Shivansh reports on major aerospace, aviation, and industrial companies in the United States. A journalism graduate from Christ University in Bangalore, he specializes in breaking news and quarterly earnings reports for the country’s largest airlines and machinery manufacturers. His work is often featured in Reuters’ Aerospace & Defense and Autos & Transportation sections.