Boeing sees full-year profit to take off

Source: Xinhua | 2018-02-01

BOEING Co yesterday forecast full-year profit well above Wall Street estimates as it expects its busiest year ever for plane deliveries, sending its shares up more than 5 percent in pre-market trading.

The world’s biggest planemaker said it aims to ship between 810 and 815 commercial aircraft in 2018, as much as 6.8 percent more than the industry-record 763 jets it delivered in 2017, putting it ahead of European rival Airbus.

Helped by the strong demand for jets, Boeing forecast core profit would rise to US$13.80 to US$14.00 a share in 2018, ahead of analysts’ average estimate of US$11.96, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, Boeing’s core earnings nearly doubled to US$4.80 per share from US$2.47 a year earlier, buoyed by rising plane output and a gain from changes to the US tax law.

It booked a one-time tax gain of US$1.74 a share due to the lower US corporate tax rate signed into law last month slashing its deferred tax liabilities in the future.

Excluding the gain, Boeing’s earnings were US$3.06 a share. On that basis, Wall Street had been eying US$2.89 a share.

Boeing forecast operating cash flow, a key measure of its financial performance, will rise to US$15 billion in 2018, up from US$13.34 billion last year.