Between July and September, the American aircraft manufacturing group recorded a decline in its turnover by 1 percent, reaching $17.84 billion.
The group warned on October 12 that its quarterly results would be affected by a total pre-tax charge of about $5 billion.
Kelly Ortberg, president of the aircraft manufacturer since early August, said in comments accompanying the publication of the results, “My mission is clear, which is to turn the ship back in the right direction and allow Boeing to regain its leading position that we know and want.”
She added, “Today we face challenges, but we have to build the foundations of a company.” Boeing For the Future” detailed priorities for getting the group back on track, starting with “a fundamental change in its culture.”
“It will take some time” for Boeing to regain its previous position, she added.
The net loss of $6.17 billion in the third quarter is the group’s second largest loss in a single quarter since mid-2018 – before two 737 Max 8 plane crashes that killed 346 people. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the group recorded a loss of $8.42 billion.
FactSet analysts agreed on a net loss of $6.12 billion.
The group’s net loss per share amounted to $10.44. Analysts were betting on a loss of $10.35.
Commercial aviation declines
The commercial aviation branch witnessed a decline in its sales volume by 5 percent to $7.44 billion, and its net losses widened to $4.02 billion compared to a loss of $678 million a year ago.
The aircraft manufacturer spent three billion pre-tax dollars on this branch due to a workers’ strike in the Seattle area (northwest), which paralyzed its main factories (for the production of the 737, 777, 767 and many military programs).
Part of these burdens is also due to delays in the approval of the 777X program – a new twin-engine long-haul aircraft that was originally scheduled to enter service in 2020 – and the 767 program, which will be manufactured for purely military purposes starting in 2027.
The group said that the production rate of the 787 Dreamliner, which is manufactured near Charleston, South Carolina, in a non-union factory, is currently four aircraft per month, with a view to reaching five aircraft by the end of the year.
In the third quarter, the commercial aviation branch received 49 net orders and delivered 116 aircraft, and its order book at the end of September had more than 5,400 aircraft worth $428 billion.
The Defense, Space and Services Branch (BDS) is also facing a bad situation due to huge losses in fixed-price contracts with the US government and with the US Space Agency (NASA).
As announced in mid-October, a pre-tax charge of $2 billion was recorded in the third quarter accounts associated with several military programs.
The total turnover of the Defense, Space and Services Branch amounted to 5.53 billion (+2%), and its net losses amounted to 2.39 billion, compared to a loss of 924 million a year ago. Its order book reached $62 billion at the end of September, of which 28 percent were from foreign customers.
In recent weeks, the group announced a reduction in its global workforce by 10 percent – about 171,000 employees by the end of 2023 – and to strengthen its funds, it plans to raise up to $25 billion over three years and obtain a second credit line worth ten billion dollars.
In electronic trading before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange, Boeing shares fell by 0.86 percent.
