Boeing reduces losses to $30m (before crash)

No financial guidance for 2024 and 2025, but a promise to focus on safety and the quality of processes and products to stem the consequences of the in-flight door explosion on the 737 Max 9 three weeks ago. "Boeing is responsible for what happened. Whatever the specific cause of the accident, an event like this simply should not happen on an aircraft leaving one of our factories. We simply have to be better. Our customers deserve better,' was CEO David Calhoun's mea culpa during the conference call with analysts to present annual figures.

The Alaska Airlines accident overshadowed Boeing's latest quarterly results, which were better than expected. The company provided no estimate of the financial damage resulting from the accident and the subsequent grounding of the aircraft. There was no indication of the impact of the limits imposed on the production of the 737 Max by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US aviation agency. The CEO recalled all the actions taken to date to restore the confidence of regulators, customers and the market. There is 'much to be done' to regain their trust. 'Everyone is disappointed (..) We will cooperate fully and transparently with the FAA at all times. We respect their role as regulators and will follow their guidance at every stage of production'. Starting with the limit imposed on the production of the 737 Max now at a rate of 38 aircraft per month when at least 50 were planned for next year.

Earnings, cash flow, and revenue for the fourth quarter exceeded analysts' expectations: the $30 million loss in the fourth quarter was less than Wall Street's expectations (it had been $633 million last year), and revenue of $22.02 billion exceeded forecasts for $21.1 billion. The goal of producing 38 737 MAX aircraft per month and 5 for the 787 Dreamliners was also achieved. All of these achievements fell by the wayside after the accident. The fourth quarter report is particularly important for Boeing, as it is the occasion to present the annual forecast for cash flows and deliveries of its two most important products, the 737 Max and the 787 Dreamliner. Not this time. In a letter sent to all employees, Calhun wrote: 'This is not the time to share financial targets' and urged them to raise concerns to improve quality. 'We will take it slow, we will not rush and we will take our time'.

The market believes in it and gives confidence to the iconic US manufacturer, pushing the stock up over 6%, the best in the Dow Jones index, after a loss of over 20% in January. For the first time since 2019 after grounding planes for double fatalities, Boeing reported an operating profit. The loss per share was 47 cents against expectations of a red of 78 cents per share. For 2023, 528 aircraft were delivered and 1,576 orders were collected net of cancellations. The order backlog rose to USD 520 billion or over 5,600 aircraft. The defence sector suffered a loss of 139 million in the quarter, amounting to 1.5 billion for the year.