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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Boeing’s Profit Poised For Takeoff Brisk First-Quarter Deliveries Fuel Projected Jump In Profits

Anthony Effinger Bloomberg News

Boeing Co. is expected to report that profits almost tripled in the first quarter, bolstered by rising deliveries of commercial aircraft.

The world’s No. 1 maker of jetliners is expected to earn $1 a share during the quarter, according to the average of 12 estimates from IBES International Inc.

That’s up from just 35 cents a share in the first quarter of 1996, when production at Boeing’s plants remained sluggish in the wake of a 10-week strike by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers in late 1995.

Earnings at Seattle-based Boeing are beginning to reflect the large number of aircraft orders the company got from airlines in 1995 and 1996. Profits at Boeing are expected to rise until 1999 or 2000 as those orders turn into deliveries.

“Each quarter going forward, we should see substantial increases in deliveries,” said Peter Jacobs, an analyst at Ragen MacKenzie in Seattle. “They’re ramping up.”

Boeing is scheduled to announce first-quarter earnings on Monday before the stock market opens.

Analysts are basing their forecasts on Boeing’s delivery of 68 commercial aircraft in the first quarter, up from just 40 in the year-ago period.

Included in the deliveries were 10 747 jumbo jets, one of Boeing’s most profitable airplanes. Analysts estimate that Boeing makes about 5 cents a share on every 747 it sells.

“The mix this quarter was sweet,” said Nick Heymann, an analyst at NatWest Securities Ltd. in New York.

Commercial aircraft accounted for 75 percent of Boeing’s $22.68 billion of sales last year, compared with 25 percent for its defense and space operations.

Heymann said he expects defense and space business to contribute about 21 cents to earnings of $1 in the first quarter.