Boeing posts $355 million loss in Q1 after series of company crises
Apr 24, 2024, 6:50 AM
(Photo: Aaron Schwartz, Getty Images)
“We are in a tough moment,” Boeing CEO David Calhoun said as the company announced a $355 million loss in the first quarter of 2024 as the ongoing saga regarding the aircraft manufacturer and its practices regarding safety continues to face increasing scrutiny.
Calhoun stated the company is focusing on fixing its manufacturing issues instead of prioritizing the financial results.
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“Although we reported first-quarter financial results today, our focus remains on the sweeping actions we are taking following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident,” Calhoun told employees in a memo Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
Since the Alaska Airlines door-plug blowout incident, Boeing’s stock has fallen by approximately one-third in value. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has stepped up its oversight and given Boeing until late May to produce a plan to fix its problems.
Boeing paid $160 million in “initial compensation” for the panel that blew out of an Alaska Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliner in January.
Additionally, airline customers remain without their full orders of new planes because of delivery disruptions. A production slowdown of the 737 MAX is a key factor in the first-quarter financial losses. The company delivered a total of 83 jets in the quarter, down 36% from last year.
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“Lower deliveries can be difficult for our customers and for our financials,” Calhoun said. “But safety and quality must and will come above all else.”
Boeing said the first-quarter loss came to $1.13 per share, which was better than the loss of $1.63 per share that analysts had forecast, according to a FactSet survey. Boeing reported revenues of $16.7 billion, slightly better than analysts expectations.
Contributing: Chris Sullivan, KIRO Newsradio; The Associated Press
Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.