Because of shaky supply chains and a shortage of workers, Boeing is in the red. But good news is giving the aircraft manufacturer’s shares a boost: the Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” can be delivered again despite high repair costs.
The Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” will soon be able to take off again. The CEO of the US aircraft manufacturer, Dave Calhoun, wrote to the workforce that they were in the final stages of preparations for the first deliveries of the long-haul machines after the one-year compulsory break. The interim report said that final consultations were in progress with the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). New Boeing 787s have not been delivered for a year after hairline cracks were discovered in parts of the plane.
The repairs are expected to cost Boeing $5.5 billion. “We’re making significant progress, but we still have a lot of work to do,” Calhoun summarized the quarter. The prospect of improvement also gave stock marketers confidence: Boeing shares rose 3.6 percent before the market. Problems in the armaments division caused Boeing to slide operationally into the red between April and June. The loss was 37 cents per share; a year earlier there was a profit of 40 cents.
However, Calhoun confirmed that the group would no longer have to cope with cash outflows this year and would therefore not lose any more money. Already in the second quarter, the operating inflow was 81 (previous year: minus 483) million dollars. Analysts were worried because Boeing – like the entire industry – suffers from shaky supply chains and a shortage of workers. “Despite navigating a challenging environment, we are beginning to achieve important milestones,” Calhoun wrote.
Group sales fell 2 percent to $16.7 billion, weaker than analysts had expected. The decisive factor for the quarterly loss were special charges of 240 million dollars in the lucrative armaments division, which does two-thirds of its business with the US government. The division’s operating profit fell more than 90 percent to $71 million.
Despite the upswing in aviation after the Corona crisis, Boeing’s commercial aircraft division is also making losses – even if they almost halved in the quarter. Production of the former problem child, the Boeing 737 MAX, has been ramped up to 31 aircraft per month. Two fatal crashes paralyzed the fleet worldwide for almost two years. However, production is still far below that of the Airbus competitor product A320/A321, of which around 50 are currently being built per month. In total, Boeing delivered 121 aircraft between April and June.
