By Allison Lampert and Shivansh Tiwary (Reuters) -Boeing reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, as the U.S. planemaker produced and delivered more jets, after quality problems and a crippling strike shuttered most of its aircraft production late last year. Boeing, which has been delivering more jets, wants to roughly double output of its top-selling […]
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Boeing reports smaller than expected loss on higher jet deliveries
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By Allison Lampert and Shivansh Tiwary
(Reuters) -Boeing reported a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss on Wednesday, as the U.S. planemaker produced and delivered more jets, after quality problems and a crippling strike shuttered most of its aircraft production late last year.
Boeing, which has been delivering more jets, wants to roughly double output of its top-selling 737 MAX plane from its January level to a regulator-capped 38 per month by the end of this year.
The company’s shares rose 4% in premarket trading, as its loss was not as large as investors feared and after a gradual increase in 737 production during the quarter.
The planemaker is working to chart a recovery under recently appointed CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is taking steps to streamline operations and strengthen its balance sheet.
But Boeing faces industry supply-chain snags that have delayed some jet production even as planemakers’ backlogs swelled last year on strong demand for aircraft. It reported an $11.8-billion loss for 2024 due to problems at its major units.
Boeing is also dealing with the fallout of a U.S.-China trade war that led to the return of two of its planes destined for a Chinese carrier and could further strain relations with the fast-growing aviation market.
Free cash flow usage, a metric closely watched by investors, improved during the quarter to negative $2.3 billion, beating analysts’ expectations of negative $3.6 billion on average, according to data compiled by LSEG. Boeing CFO Brian West said in March that cash flow could improve in the first quarter by hundreds of millions of dollars.
On Tuesday, Boeing announced the sale of portions of its Digital Aviation Solutions business, including navigation unit Jeppesen, for $10.55 billion, as part of Ortberg’s plan to reduce debt by selling non-core assets.
In a letter to employees on Wednesday, Ortberg referred to 2025 as Boeing’s “turnaround year,” citing higher first-quarter deliveries and product improvements.
“We’re building higher quality airplanes and delivering them with more predictability,” he said in the letter.
The planemaker reported an adjusted loss of 49 cents per share during the first quarter, compared with analysts’ average expectations of $1.29, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Its revenue increased 18% to $19.5 billion in the quarter through March, marginally above Wall Street expectations of $19.45 billion.
(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Shivansh Tiwary in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Rod Nickel)