Boeing reports quarterly loss as high costs hamper recovery
Boeing reported a loss to end 2022 as the plane maker grappled with high costs that slowed its recovery even as a late flurry of jet deliveries drove a surge in cash.
Adjusted earnings were negative $1.75 a share in the fourth quarter, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said Wednesday in a statement. Revenue was about $20 billion, roughly in line with the average analyst estimate compiled by Bloomberg.
The results underscore the work Boeing still has to do to return its factories to high gear and fully capitalize on soaring demand for air travel. The U.S. aviation titan has already endured a difficult few years marked by the grounding of the cash-cow 737 Max and COVID-19 pandemic, before recent signs of recovery.
The shares fell 2.3% as of 8:22 a.m. before the start of regular trading in New York. Through Tuesday’s close, Boeing’s stock had risen 11% this year.
Still, Boeing made good on a cash-flow recovery promised by executives, generating $3.1 billion in the quarter. That was better than the $2.89 billion Wall Street had expected for the period and lifted the company to its first positive cash flow on an annual basis since 2018. Boeing had burned through more than $28 billion over the three-year stretch before the 2022 rebound.
“While we have made meaningful progress, challenges remain and we have more work ahead to drive stability in our operations and within the supply chain,” Boeing Chief Executive Officer Dave Calhoun said in a separate memo to employees. “This will be another important year for us as we look to steadily increase our production rates, further improve performance, progress in our development programs and deliver on our commitments.”
The plane maker is starting to step up jet deliveries and chip away at its stockpile of hundreds of already-built Max, 787 Dreamliners and 777X jetliners. Boeing has been hobbled by shortages of critical components such as engines and too few trained workers on its production lines.
Increasing deliveries bolsters cash, although Boeing also faces the added expense of bringing the aircraft out of storage and making repairs so they meet the latest airworthiness standards, according to George Ferguson, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence. He estimated that the company had 229 undelivered Max in its storage lots as of December.
“When you start delivering airplanes that have already been built, obviously it turbocharges cash flow because you didn’t have to spend cash to build the airplane,” Ferguson said of Boeing’s cash surge in an interview before the earnings report. “But you have to spend some to get it out of inventory – before you can grab all that cash.”
Calhoun and Boeing Chief Financial Officer Brian West are expected to provide an update on the status of the undelivered jets, efforts to stem defense program losses and discuss another potential earnings catalyst – China’s reopening travel market – during an earnings conference call later Wednesday morning.
Airlines are snapping up new jets as they emerge from COVID, and Boeing’s 737 Max has an opportunity to make headway against a rival Airbus SE model that’s largely sold out until 2029. But the U.S. plane maker has been slow to crank up work in its factories as it contends with shortages of engines, particularly for its 737 Max, and supplier hiccups for everything from computer chips to lavatories.