Boeing reported third-quarter net income of US$1.1 billion, up 61 per cent over a net profit of $694 million a year earlier, insisting the delays to the 787 Dreamliner programme will have only minimal financial impact beyond a slight decrease in projected 2008 revenue.
Chairman, President and CEO, Jim McNerney and Chief Financial Officer James Bell projected that the six-month slide in delivering the 787 will cause a $3.5 billion drop in next year’s revenues. Yet they reaffirmed that profit for 2008is expected to hold up.
McNerney said the company has moved quickly to address 787 supply chain problems and that both it and the Dreamliner programme are in good shape long term, pointing to a robust market for commercial aircraft.
“We have been pleasantly surprised by the strength of the commercial airplane market in the last couple of years,” he said. “We’re seeing strong momentum” in commercial aircraft sales.