Boeing reports $16b in annual loss after crisis-ridden year
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Boeing burned through US$14.3 billion in cash in 2024, compared with a cash flow of US$4.43 billion in 2023.
PHOTO: AFP
Follow topic:
ARLINGTON COUNTY, Virginia – Boeing on Jan 28 reported an annual loss of US$11.83 billion (S$16 billion), its largest since 2020, as it grappled with problems at its commercial and defence units and the fallout from a crippling strike
The loss demonstrates the challenges facing chief executive Kelly Ortberg in turning around the plane maker as it cedes more ground to rival Airbus in the delivery race and comes under the crosshairs of regulators and customers following a series of missteps.
Mr Ortberg, who took the reins of the planemaker in August, however, said the company was making progress on restoring stability to its struggling production lines after a harrowing mid-air accident in 2024 raised concerns about the safety of its jets.
The company reported a loss of US$3.86 billion in the fourth quarter due to what Mr Ortberg called “disappointing” charges in several fixed-price defence programmes.
He, however, added that Boeing was “now more proactive and clear-eyed on the risks” to the programmes.
Revenue for the quarter through December fell 31 per cent to US$15.24 billion, missing analysts’ expectation of US$16.21 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Quarterly adjusted loss per share was US$5.90, compared with expectations of a loss of US$3 per share.
Cash burn was US$14.3 billion in 2024, compared with a cash flow of US$4.43 billion in 2023.
Mr Ortberg reiterated the company’s four-part plan to turn the business around, including undertaking a “multi-year journey” to fix Boeing’s culture, “perhaps the most important change we need to make”.
After banking record-high profits in the 2010s, Boeing has bled more than US$30 billion since 2019 after two fatal crashes of its best-selling 737 Max jet triggered production quality and safety concerns and worries that it misled regulators during the plane’s certification process.
The Covid-19 pandemic further squeezed the company, while the mid-air panel blowout
“We have completed deep dives on all of our challenging fixed-price development programmes,” Mr Ortberg said on Jan 28 in a letter to employees.
The company’s defence, space and security business lost US$5.41 billion in 2024.
Mr Ortberg added that Boeing has made progress with its supply chain and has returned to an output rate of five 787 jets per month at the end of 2024, despite delays in areas like seats.
Boeing’s commercial planes division – now focused on getting three of its models certified – has a good handle on fixing a thrust link issue uncovered on its 777X widebody, which resumed flight tests earlier in January, he added.
Mr Ortberg was guarded in his message about the status of solving problems with anti-icing systems on the 737-7 and -10 models.
The company is “still working through the testing phase focusing on finalisation of the anti-icing design solution”, he said.
The company continues to invest in “core businesses while streamlining our portfolio in areas that are not core to our future”, he said. REUTERS
