Boeing posts a $561m loss, but sees ‘an inflection point’ for the industry

Boeing said Wednesday that it lost $561m in the first three months of the year as it emerged from its prolonged 737 Max crisis and contended with new problems related to the 787 Dreamliner jet. Revenue fell 10% to $15.2b compared with the same period last year. But, like his counterparts at major airlines, Dave Calhoun, Boeing’s CE, struck an optimistic tone. “While the global pandemic continues to challenge the overall market environment, we view 2021 as a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery,” he said. In an investor presentation, Boeing said it continued to expect the recovery to take years to unfold, with passenger traffic unlikely to return to 2019 levels until 2023 or 2024. It also said its financial results for this year “hinge” on a recovery in the commercial airplane market. At the end of March, the company had a backlog of more than 4,000 commercial airplane orders, valued at $283b. Its defense and space backlog was valued at $61b. The company’s results were weighed down by quality concerns with the 787, though deliveries of the plane resumed at the end of the quarter “following comprehensive reviews,” Boeing said. The company also suffered a $318m charge related to development of the next Air Force One, which was affected by a pandemic slowdown and problems with a key supplier, which Boeing recently sued.<br/>