The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), the aerospace and defense behemoth, raised its full-year profit outlook and crushed Wall Street’s expectations with its robust first-quarter results.
The airline maker reported net income in the first quarter of US$2.48bn or US$4.15 per share, up from US$1.58bln or US$2.54 per share a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, its earnings came to US$3.64 per share on revenues of US$23.4bn, which beat Wall Street’s consensus estimate of US$2.58 on revenue of US$22.28bn.
"Our team's strong first-quarter performance, combined with the positive market outlook across our businesses and our confidence in executing on our production and development programs, gives us a solid foundation to raise our guidance for the year," said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing’s president and chief executive officer.
The aerospace group also raised its full-year profit forecast for 2018 by 50 cents to a range of US$16.40 to US$16.60 per share while keeping its revenue expectations in a range of US$96bn to US$98bn.
Boeing’s airplane division fared well in the quarter, with revenue from commercial airlines jumping 5% from last year to US$13.7bn.
The Chicago-based firm delivered 184 new airplanes in the first three months of the year, including the 787-10 Dreamliner to Singapore Airlines and the first 737 MAX9 to the Lion Air group.
It also booked 221 net new orders and reported an extensive backlog of over 5,800 airplanes which are valued at US$415bn.
In pre-market trade, Boeing shares inched up 1.5% to US$334.02.