Boeing raises profit and sales forecast; shares jump

Boeing shares jumped Wednesday after the planemaker reported stronger-than-expected quarterly profit and cash flow, helped by soaring demand from airlines and solid defense sales and services, and raised its 2018 sales and profit estimates. Demand from commercial airlines has driven a surge in revenue, pushing shares up by roughly a third over the past 12 months. Boeing shares were up 3.3% to $361.51 after rising nearly 5% earlier, helping limit losses on Wall Street. A $691m charge tied to Boeing’s MQ-25 refuelling drone and T-X training jet defense programs just weeks after it won the latter contract in cooperation with Sweden’s Saab AB took some of the shine off Boeing’s results, however. “Today’s results are all the proof you need that they have a an enormously successful commercial business that’s allowing for very aggressive pricing on the defense side,” said aerospace analyst Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group. Boeing said the stronger cash flow was primarily driven by timing of receipts and expenditures as well as planned higher commercial airplane production rates.<br/>