Boeing beats expectations and plans to ramp up commercial aircraft deliveries for 2017
Boeing announced stronger than expecting earnings for its fourth quarter and has said it will top the 748 commercial aircrafts delivered last year.
It did though, provide a softer sales outlook for the coming year.
Read more: Airbus warns on future investment over Brexit free movement
The figures
The aerospace giant announced full-year revenue of $94.6bn and fourth quarter revenue that was down 1.2 per cent to $23.3bn, compared to analysts' expectation of $23.1bn.
Adjusted earnings were $2.47 a share, which the firm said reflected "overall solid execution on production programmes and services".
It expects core earnings for 2017 in the range of $9.10-$9.30 per share, while revenue is expected to slip; in the range of $90.5-$92.5bn.
Revenue from defence aircraft did fall by 18 per cent for the same period in 2015, while income from military sales was down 34 per cent.
Operating cash flow is set to increase by around $250m to $10.75bn.
Why it's interesting
Boeing has just said it plans to ramp up deliveries of planes for 2017 – expecting to deliver between 760 and 765 commercial aircraft for the year, which would be higher than 748 deliveries in 2016.
But it has also provided a more subdued sales outlook, as the firm slows production of its 777. Last month it said it will cut production of its 777 jetliner to five a month in August 2017, marking a 40 per cent reduction from the rate of 8.3 a month.
What the company said
Chairman, president and chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, said:
Looking forward, our team is intent on accelerating productivity and program execution to deliver increasing cash and profitability from our large and diverse order backlog of nearly $500bn, standing up our new integrated services business, and capturing an even greater share of the the growing global aerospace market to deliver superior value to our customers, shareholders and employees.