The American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has had a tough year due to the problems with the 737 Max model.
When the company released its fourth-quarter report on Wednesday, it reported its first year of loss since 1997.
Boeing reported fourth-quarter revenue of $17.9 billion, down 37 percent from the year-ago quarter. The loss per share was $2.33, compared with a profit of $5.48 per share in the fourth quarter of 2018.
For the full year, the loss per share was $3.47, which means that Boeing reported a negative result for the first time since 1997, according to the AFP news agency. The year before, the profit was $16.01 per share.
Full-year revenue fell 24 percent to $76.6 billion. Boeing delivered just 79 commercial aircraft last year, down from 238 in 2018.
The drop in revenue is primarily due to the problems surrounding the 737 Max model, which has been grounded since March when a second accident occurred with the plane. In the two accidents, which occurred in Indonesia and Ethiopia, a total of 346 people died.
Boeing writes in the report that it estimates that the cost of producing the aircraft model increased by $2.6 billion during the fourth quarter. In addition, the company expects an additional $4 billion in extraordinary costs for the accident model, which will primarily be incurred in 2020. In total, Boeing expects costs related to the 737 Max flight ban to amount to $18 billion, equivalent to 173 billion SEK.
Boeing CEO David Calhoun writes in the report that the company is "focused on safely returning the 737 Max to the market and restoring the long-standing trust that the Boeing brand represents to the flying public.".
Regarding another model, the 787, Boeing plans to reduce the production rate from 12 to 10 planes per month in early 2021. The company then expects to return to a rate of 12 planes per month in 2023. As recently as October, plans were announced to lower the production rate to 12 from 14 planes per month, writes the news agency Direkt.
Despite the weak report, to say the least, Boeing shares rose 2.5 percent in American pre-market trading.
Source: di.se
