Earnings

Boeing profit jumps 26% as commercial aircraft sale rises

Reuters with AP
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A Boeing Co. 787-9 Dreamliner test aircraft in a hangar at Air New Zealand Ltd.'s technical operations base at Auckland International Airport in Auckland, New Zealand, on Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014.
Brendon O'Hagan | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Boeing reported net profit that beat expectations for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, and projected that deliveries of commercial airplanes will surge in 2014.

However, Boeing share prices dropped sharply after it said 2014 revenue and profit would be lower than analysts have been expecting.

Chicago-based Boeing said net income in the quarter rose to $1.23 billion, or $1.61 a share, from $978 million, or $1.28 a share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose to $23.8 billion from $22.3 billion in the quarter. Core earnings, which exclude some pension expenses, rose 29 percent to $1.84 billion, or $1.88 a share, compared with $1.46 a share a year earlier.

Analysts had expected core earnings per share of $1.57 for the fourth quarter and revenue of $22.7 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Boeing said it would deliver 715 to 725 commercial airplanes this year, a possible increase of nearly 12 percent from a record 648 in 2013.

It expects core earnings to rise to as much as $7.20 a share in 2014, up less than 2 percent from $7.07 a share for 2013. Boeing's results included a noncash charge of $406 million to settle litigation over the canceled A-12 stealth bomber program.

The Justice Department announced a settlement with Boeing and General Dynamics last week that includes three additional EA-18G fighter jets, which will be paid for by Boeing.

Boeing said its earnings reflect a charge of 34 cents a share for the A-12 settlement,which was partly reduced by a 28-cent-per-share gain from a favorable change in tax regulations.

--By Reuters with AP.