(New York) The American aircraft manufacturer Boeing suffered a net loss in the first quarter, smaller than expected, linked to the slowdown in its deliveries after production problems and operating incidents.
“Our first quarter results reflect the immediate actions we have taken to slow down production of the 737 in order to achieve improvements in the quality” of the planes, commented Dave Calhoun, boss of the aircraft manufacturer, quoted Wednesday in a press release.
“We will take the time necessary to strengthen our quality and safety management systems and this work will position us for a stronger and more stable future,” added the man who is due to leave his post at the end of the year, carried away by the consequences of many problems encountered by Boeing on several of its commercial models.
In the first quarter, Boeing’s turnover reached $16.57 billion (-7.5% year-on-year).
The net loss stood at $343 million, compared to a net loss of $414 million a year earlier. FactSet consensus analysts had forecast a much larger loss, at $709 million.
“Financial results reflect lower 737 deliveries and the impact of keeping the 737-9 on the ground,” Boeing said, referring to the Jan. 5 incident involving an Alaska Airlines plane that lost a plane in flight. cork holder.
In a document filed with the American Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Boeing mentioned a charge of $443 million, after insurance, recorded in the first quarter in connection with this incident.
Two American companies were most affected by the suspension of flights: Alaska said it had already received $162 million, and United Airlines received credits on future orders for an unspecified amount.
Boeing shares fell 2.86% at the close of the New York Stock Exchange.
This quarterly loss is hardly a surprise, financial director Brian West had warned on March 20 that this incident would weigh down these quarterly results.
Slowed production
Regulators have identified “non-compliance” problems at Boeing and its subcontractor Spirit AeroSystems, which manufactures its fuselages in particular.
Boeing’s new inspection protocols at Spirit have reduced the number of non-compliance issues on delivered fuselages by 80% compared to two months ago, Calhoun told CNBC.
“We are encouraged by their clarity and the fluidity with which they are moving remarkably faster through the production line” at Boeing, he said during an audio conference with analysts.
One of the consequences of these production problems was the freezing by the American Civil Aviation Agency (FAA) of the production rate of the 737 at the level of the end of 2023 (38 per month), while the aircraft manufacturer expected to continue its increase to 50 monthly copies in 2025/2026.
It only produced 27 in January and remained below the ceiling imposed “to incorporate improvements” in quality and manufacturing processes, the group said on Wednesday.
As a result, over the first three months of the year, the aircraft manufacturer delivered only 83 aircraft, compared to 130 a year earlier. He therefore only collected $4.65 billion (-31%).
On CNBC, Mr. Calhoun maintained the target of $10 billion in cash flow per year by 2025/2026. Because, according to him, Boeing’s situation will “return to normal in the second half”.
In a message addressed to employees, he states that almost the entire stock of 737 MAX 8 – 110 copies – and 787 – 60 copies – will be delivered “by the end of the year”.
This bodes well for Boeing’s coffers, which receives the bulk of payment on delivery. Its order book reached $529 billion at the end of March, including $448 billion for more than 5,600 commercial aircraft.
The rating agency Moody’s downgraded the long-term (Baa3) and short-term (P-3) debt ratings by one notch, with a negative outlook. According to her, the problems in the commercial aviation branch (BCA) will “continue at least until 2026” and affect liquidity.
The Defense, Space and Security (BDS) branch earned $6.95 billion (+6%) and generated an operating profit of $151 million, compared to a loss of $212 million a year earlier.
Its results suffered from a shortfall of $222 million on contractually fixed price programs that were more costly than expected.