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Boeing reported on Tuesday an annual loss of US$11.83 billion (HK$92.27 billion), its largest since 2020, as it grappled with problems at its commercial and defense units and the fallout from a crippling strike by U.S. West Coast factory workers.
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The loss demonstrates the challenges facing chief executive Kelly Ortberg in turning around the U.S. planemaker as it cedes ground to rival Airbus in the delivery race and comes under the crosshairs of regulators and customers following a series of missteps.
Ortberg told CNBC on Tuesday the company expects to deliver 737 MAX jets in the upper "30s" in January. The company delivered 17 MAX jets, its strongest-selling plane, in December.
Boeing shares rose 4.2 percent in premarket trading. Boeing did not report guidance for this year, but has previously told investors it planned to generate US$10 billion in annual free cash flow by 2025 or 2026, a goal widely expected to be delayed.
For the quarter, the company reported a cash burn of US$4.1 billion, a metric closely watched by investors, slightly lower than analysts' expectation of a US$4.26-billion cash burn, according to data compiled by LSEG.
Ortberg, who took the helm of the planemaker in August, said the company was making progress on restoring stability to its struggling production lines after a harrowing mid-air accident a year ago raised concerns about the safety of its jets.
Boeing reported a loss of US$3.86 billion in the fourth quarter due to what Ortberg called "disappointing" charges in several fixed-price defense programs. Ortberg, however, added in a letter to employees on Tuesday that Boeing was "now more proactive and clear-eyed on the risks" to the programs.
Ortberg reiterated the company's four-part plan to turn the business around, including a multi-year effort to fix Boeing's culture, "perhaps the most important change we need to make."
REUTERS
