Boeing The U.S. said on Wednesday it had incurred $ 4.5 billion in fourth-quarter costs for delays in its 787 program, which overshadowed the U.S. airliner’s long-awaited return to positive cash flow fueled by restoration deliveries of the 737 MAX.
Shares of the company fell 0.3% in pre-market trading as the aircraft manufacturer suffered huge losses due to the 787 charge after two quarters of profit.
Mixed quarterly results highlight challenges facing Boeing as he tries to recover from coronavirus pandemic and the 737 MAX safety crises, while also navigating problems of the industrial sector and the regulatory arena on its larger 787 and 777X flagships.
Reuters reported last week that 787 deliveries are expected to remain frozen for months as U.S. regulators review repairs and inspections for structural defects on the planes, while designs for the new 777X face further regulatory setbacks from Europe.
“While we never want to disappoint our customers or lose expectations, the work we do now will create stability and predictability in the future,” he said. Dave Calhoun, CEO of Boeingto employees in a memo seen by Reuters.
Calhoun stopped by to say when 787 deliveries will resume. The program remains at a “very low” production rate, with an expected gradual return to five per month over time, Boeing said.
Boeing revealed a $ 3.5 billion pre-tax non-cash levy related to delays in 787 deliveries and customer concessions, and another $ 1 billion in extraordinary production costs.
Boeing previously predicted that the 787’s slow production pace and redesign would result in about $ 1 billion in extraordinary costs.
The company reported a $ 4.54 billion core operating loss in the fourth quarter ended December 31, compared to a loss of $ 8.38 billion a year earlier, when the company filed a $ 6.5 billion levy due to delays discussed in his 777X aircraft program.
Even so, Boeing generated positive cash flow in the fourth quarterwhich represents its first period of positive cash since the beginning of 2019, driven by deliveries of 737 MAKS as air travel recovers from the pandemic.
The firm reported $ 3.8 billion in fourth-quarter expenses for 787 assembly costs.
Meanwhile, the group recorded a net loss of $ 4.1 billion in that period, while the red balance for the entire 2021 was $ 4.2 billion.
Boeing, which was counting on the gradual return to activity of the 737 MAX model after the two fatal accidents that left it standing for more than 20 months, was surprised this time by manufacturing errors.
The defects were discovered in the late summer of 2020, in the coupling of a part of the hull and in the horizontal stabilizer. Other technical problems then appeared, especially in the nose of the aircraft.
Boeing initially had to suspend deliveries from November 2020 to March 2021, then from the end of May, and also reduce production runs.
(With information from AFP)
Reference-www.eleconomista.com.mx