Aerospace giant Boeing Co. (NYSE:BA) saw its fourth quarter 2016 sales and earnings beat forecasts, but its 2017 sales guidance was lower than expected.
The world's biggest maker of jetliners said its fourth-quarter earnings rose to US$1.63bn, or US$2.59 a share, up from US$1.03bn, or US $1.51 a share at the same stage a year earlier.
Boeing’s revenues in the final quarter of 2016 fell by 1.2% to US $23.29bn, but that still beat the US$23.13bn consensus forecast.
For 2017, the aircraft maker said it expects adjusted EPS of US$9.10 to US$9.30, in-line with consensus of US$9.25, but its revenue guidance of US$90.5bn to US$92.5bn was below expectations for US$$92.96bn.
Boeing said it expects to deliver between 760 and 765 commercial aircraft in 2017, higher than the 748 deliveries it made in 2016.
Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s chairman, president and chief executive officer , said: “We led the industry in commercial airplane deliveries for the fifth consecutive year, achieved healthy sales in our defense, space and services segments, and produced record operating cash flow, which fueled investment in innovation and our people and generated significant returns to shareholders"
The group said commercial aerospace sales in the fourth-quarter rose by 1% to US$16.24bn, slightly below forecasts.
Military aircraft sales dropped 18% to US$2.62bn, although that beat expectations, and network and space systems sales fell 8% to US$1.80bn, also above forecasts.
Boeing shares, which have soared 29% higher over the past 12 months, were up around 1% in pre-market trading in New York.