»Dreamliner« production: Still big construction sites
Photo: STEPHEN BRASHEAR/ AFP
The corona crisis and problems with the long-haul jet 787 “Dreamliner” have brought the US aircraft manufacturer Boeing another billion in losses in 2021.
At 4.3 billion US dollars, the minus was almost two-thirds lower than a year earlier, as the Airbus rival announced in Chicago on Wednesday.
And sales rose by seven percent to 62.3 billion dollars.
Despite this, the company performed significantly worse than analysts had expected.
The third fiscal year in a row in the red shows how deeply Boeing is still in the crisis. The debacle surrounding the 737 Max medium-haul jet, which was grounded after two crashes, was followed by the corona pandemic, which was heavily burdening the aviation industry. Boeing boss Dave Calhoun described 2021 as a "year of reconstruction" in view of the many problems. But there are still big construction sites.
The »Dreamliner« in particular had a negative impact recently.
The model cannot be delivered due to various defects, Boeing has been waiting for the green light from US air traffic control for months.
But the schedule remains uncertain and it is becoming more and more expensive for Boeing.
Enormous special charges - such as compensation payments for delayed deliveries to airlines - tore the balance sheet in the final quarter with 4.2 billion dollars into the red.
Boeing's revenues also fell by three percent to 14.8 billion dollars at the end of the year.
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Although the quarterly figures remained well below market expectations, Boeing boss Calhoun expressed confidence in a statement to employees.
"We still have a lot of work ahead of us," the letter said.
But the aviation industry is poised for a comeback in 2022 and Boeing is well positioned to do so.
Investors also reacted positively to the annual report and let Boeing's shares rise slightly at the start of trading.
This was mainly due to the fact that the group posted a positive cash flow in the fourth quarter for the first time since 2019, despite the high special costs.
While the situation with the "Dreamliner" remains uncertain and production is expected to remain at an extremely low level for the time being, the bestseller 737 Max is gradually gaining momentum once the flight ban has been lifted.
Production has already been ramped up from 19 to 26 machines per month since October and is set to increase to 31 soon.
In terms of new orders for commercial aircraft, Boeing was even ahead of Airbus last year for the first time since 2018.
But the European archrival was far ahead in terms of deliveries and thus defended its position as the largest aircraft manufacturer.
mike/dpa
