Demand for airplanes lifts Boeing’s 4Q profit

DALLAS – Boeing Co.’s fourth-quarter profit rose 19 percent as demand for commercial airliners trumped weakness in its defense business.

Investors looked past a muted outlook for 2015 earnings and sent the shares to a 52-week high Wednesday.

Chicago-based Boeing and European rival Airbus have prospered as airlines around the world have gone on a shopping spree, helped by rising demand for travel and cheap financing. Boeing has an eight-year order backlog for nearly 5,800 planes valued at $440 billion.

Boeing expects to deliver 750 to 755 commercial jets this year, up from a record 723 last year.

For the fourth quarter, Boeing reported net income of $1.47 billion, or $2.02 per share, compared with $1.23 billion, or $1.61 per share, a year earlier.

Excluding volatile pension-funding obligations, Boeing said core earnings rose to $2.31 per share. Analysts expected $2.11, according to a FactSet survey.

Revenue rose 3 percent to $24.47 billion.

The company said adjusted earnings this year will be between $8.20 and $8.40 per share, below analysts’ forecast of $8.66 per share. It expects revenue of $94.5 billion to $96.5 billion, beating Wall Street’s view of $93.25 billion. Analysts said the company is known for cautious forecasts.

Stepping up production rates to meet demand, Boeing delivered 195 commercial jets in the fourth quarter, up from 172 a year earlier. Revenue for commercial planes grew 15 percent in the fourth quarter, led by rising deliveries of the classic 737 short-haul plane and Boeing’s newest model, the 787 or Dreamliner, a long-range jet designed to be lighter and more fuel-efficient.

Boeing said a measure of early costs for the 787 rose nearly $1 billion in 2014, to $26.1 billion, indicating Boeing is still losing money on each plane. Executives said the plane, which made its first airline flight in 2011, will start generating cash this year.

About one-third of Boeing’s revenue comes from defense-related products, and that part of the company is shrinking as defense budgets come under pressure. Defense, space and security revenue fell 7 percent.