Boeing has seen a significant improvement in its performance, with CEO Kelly Ortberg stating that the company is starting to see a difference in its performance across the business. The company’s airplane deliveries have improved, and its production has become more stable, with even once-critical airline CEOs praising Boeing’s leadership. However, the aerospace giant lost $176 million in the three months ended June 30, down from $1.09 billion a year earlier. Revenue rose 35% to $22.75 billion from $16.87 billion. Adjusting for one-time items, Boeing reported a loss of $433 million or $1.24 a share, better than the loss analysts expected.
Boeing’s earnings were hit by a $445 million charge from a deal with the Justice Department to avoid prosecution tied to two deadly crashes of the company’s best-selling 737 Max. In the second quarter of this year, sales in Boeing’s commercial airplane unit rose 81% from a year ago to $10.87 billion, and its negative operating margin more than halved to 5.1%.
Increased production and deliveries are key to Boeing’s recovery, as airlines and other customers pay the bulk of a jet’s price when they receive it. For the three months ended June 30, Boeing handed over 150 airplanes, the last time it delivered that many planes in a second quarter was in 2018, which was also the last year Boeing posted an annual profit.
However, the company still faces challenges, such as the long-delayed certification of the Boeing 737 Max 7 and the Max 10, which may not come this year as forecasted. Boeing engineers are working on a fix for an anti-ice system for those aircraft.
