Boeing ends 2022 with a $5 billion loss

Boeing published its Q4 2022 and 2022 full-year financial results, indicating that despite a return to a positive free cash flow, it still lost $5 billion.

In total, the company earned $66.6 billion of revenue in 2022, $19.9 billion of it being in Q4 2022. While it pushed to deliver as many aircraft as it could during the last quarter of the year, handing over 152 commercial aircraft, the company also experienced a net loss of $663 million in Q4 2022. Still, Boeing’s free cash flow was $3.1 billion in Q4 2022 ($494 million in Q4 2021) and $2.2 billion in 2022 (-$4.3 billion in 2021).

Stabilizing production of the 737
Boeing’s Commercial Airplanes (BCA) division earned a revenue of $25.8 billion in the year, a 33% increase compared to the corresponding period.

However, BCA’s net loss was $2.3 billion, an improvement compared to 2021’s net loss of $6.4 billion.

“Commercial Airplanes fourth-quarter revenue increased to $9.2 billion driven by higher 737 and 787 deliveries, partially offset by 787 customer considerations,” the company’s announcement read.

Defense, Space & Security lost $3.5 billion in 2022 ($1.5 billion profit in 2021), while Global Services ended 2022 with a profit of $2.7 billion ($2.01 billion in 2021).

“The 737 program is stabilizing production rate at 31 per month with plans to ramp production to approximately 50 per month in the 2025/2026 timeframe,” Boeing noted, while adding that the 787 is still being built at a low rate. It should ramp up to five per month in late 2023, and to 10 per month in 2025/2026.

The final quarter of the year was fruitful for the OEM, which booked 376 net orders, including 200 from United Airlines. The airline ordered 200 aircraft, split into 100 Boeing 737 MAX and 100 Boeing 787s, in December 2022.

Customers received 480 aircraft from Boeing in 2022, compared to Airbus’ 661 deliveries. The European manufacturer is yet to publish its full-year results, which it is scheduled to do on February 16, 2023.