Boeing Surprises With Strong First Quarter Income

April 25, 2013
Increased deliveries of other jets makes up for halt in Dreamliners.

Boeing Co.'s first-quarter profit rose 5.3 per cent and beat analysts' estimates as increased deliveries for 777- and 737-model jets made up for the halt in buyers picking up Dreamliners while that plane was grounded.

Profit, excluding some pension expenses, was $1.87 billion, or $1.73 a share, compared with $1.77 billion, or $1.40, a year earlier, the Chicago-based company said Wednesday. Analysts projected $1.49 a share on that basis, the average of 18 estimates by Bloomberg.

Boeing delivered four more 777s and three more 737s in the quarter than a year earlier, making up for the pause in handing over 787 Dreamliners, which are less profitable, in part because the program is new. The world's largest plane maker shipped 137 commercial aircraft, matching the year-earlier tally.

"Boeing benefited from a better mix in deliveries," said Ken Herbert, a San Francisco-based analyst with Imperial Capital LLC. "Delivering those higher-margin, more-mature programs - the 737 and the 777 - was incrementally positive to the bottom line."

Revenue fell 2.5 per cent to $18.9 billion because of the drop in 787 deliveries and the effect of U.S. budget cuts on Boeing's defense business. Analysts had predicted revenue of $18.8 billion.

Since January, Boeing has used a profit measure - so-called core earnings per share - that it said gives a clearer picture by adjusting for market fluctuation in pension expenses. Without the adjustment, net income was $1.11 billion, or $1.44 a share, compared with $923 million, or $1.22, a year earlier.

The company today reaffirmed its 2013 forecast of core EPS of $6.10 to $6.30.

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