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Investing.com - Boeing has said it will post a bigger-than-anticipated loss of around $4 billion in its most recent quarter, as the embattled jetmaker grappled with a prolonged strike, charges related to US government projects and expenses linked to a slew of job cuts.
In an update released prior to the company's results next week, Boeing (NYSE:BA) said it would report a loss of $5.46 a share, equating to about $4 billion. Analysts had expected a per-share loss of $1.84, according to LSEG data cited by Reuters.
Revenue in the fourth quarter is also tipped to come in at $15.2 billion, missing projections of $16.27 billion.
Boeing has faced both increased scrutiny over its safety record and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic in recent years, while 2024 began with a dangerous mid-air panel blowout on one of its 737 MAX planes. The incident, coupled with a work stoppage by over 33,000 workers, weighed on the firm last year.
"In our view, the company wanted to brace the market for charges that it is taking in accordance with the work stoppages resulting from the [...] strike," analysts at RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients.
Losses for the first nine months of 2024 amounted to almost $8 billion and, based on Thursday's announcement, the figure could expand further to nearly $12 billion for the year -- rivalling a record annual loss logged in 2020.
CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over at the helm of the group in August, flagged in a statement that Boeing has encountered "near-term challenges", but added that it has taken "important steps" to stabilize the business. That included a move to end the strike in November, and restart production of its 737, 767 and 777 programs, as well as a push to raise more than $20 billion in capital, Ortberg said.
Results at Boeing's Commercial Airplanes division are set to reflect the impact of the strike, including lower deliveries and a pre-tax earnings charge of $1.1 billion on its 777X and 767 programs, Boeing said. Quarterly revenue at the unit is expected to be $4.8 billion.
Its Defense, Space and Security segment, meanwhile, anticipates a $1.7 billion pre-tax charge stemming from its fixed-price development initiatives. In particular, its KC-46 tanker program, which uses the 767 airframe, booked an $800 million charge partly because of the strike, Boeing noted.
Shares in Boeing dipped by over 1% in premarket US trading on Friday.
(Yasin Ebrahim and Reuters contributed reporting.)
