Boeing profit falls as 787 deliveries still halted

Boeing reported a drop in second-quarter profits Wednesday on the continued halt to deliveries of the 787, in results that missed analyst expectations.

The aviation giant reported a 67 percent plunge in quarterly profits to $193 million, as revenues declined 1.9 percent to $16.7 billion.

But shares rose after the report, as Boeing confirmed it still expects to have positive cash flow in 2022.

The company said it was working with US air safety officials on "final actions" to resume 787 deliveries.

The halt on the widebody plane has been a drag on Boeing's financial performance for more than a year.

The company has been working with the Federal Aviation Administration to address a series of manufacturing issues uncovered in 2020 and since.

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The enhanced regulatory scrutiny of the 787 and other Boeing planes comes on the heels of a pair of crashes in 2018 and 2019 on the 737 MAX, which led to a lengthy global grounding of the plane.

But the MAX has since returned to service, enabling Boeing to ramp up production of the planes, collect meaningful revenues and announce significant new orders at the Farnborough Airshow earlier this month.

"We made important progress across key programs in the second quarter and are building momentum in our turnaround," said Chief Executive Dave Calhoun.

"As we begin to hit key milestones, we were able to generate positive operating cash flow this quarter and remain on track to achieve positive free cash flow for 2022. While we are making meaningful progress, we have more work ahead."

Shares climbed 2.0 percent to $159.01 in pre-market trading.

Source: AFP