Boeing said on Wednesday it would not provide a full-year financial outlook, but it is the most recent announcement the company has made to date as it seeks to assure customers it is prioritizing safety amid growing concerns about its popular 737 Max jet. It's a clear sign.
Even when announcing quarterly results, the company chose to focus instead on discussing quality control. Boeing is trying to contain the fallout from an accident that occurred less than four weeks ago when an Alaska Airlines 737 Max 9 jet blew a hole shortly after takeoff.
“While we often share and update financial and operational goals around this time of year, now is not the time,” Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a message to employees. said. “We are simply focused on the next aircraft, while doing everything possible to support our customers, follow the guidance of regulatory authorities and ensure the highest standards of safety and quality in all our activities. I’ll go.”
With the Jan. 5 incident still under investigation by federal authorities, Boeing executives are grappling with how to emphasize safety improvements while reassuring shareholders about its financial performance. Ta. Quality concerns have taken on new urgency following reports such as the New York Times report that Boeing employees opened and reinstalled panels known as door plugs that had been blown off planes.
The crash scared passengers and forced the pilot to make an emergency landing in Portland, Oregon, but some aviation experts believe that Boeing has long sought to boost profits through stock buybacks and dividends. There were renewed concerns that the company had focused too much on enriching shareholders and not enough on engineering and safety. Experts expressed similar concerns after two 737 Max 8 crashes in 2018 and 2019 killed nearly 350 people.
The impact of this incident on Boeing's financial performance is not yet known. The company's results on Wednesday were for the three months ended Dec. 31.
The company said in Wednesday's earnings call that it was producing 737 Max jets at a rate of 38 jets per month at the end of the year. The hope was to increase that rate to 42 cases per month this year.
But the Federal Aviation Administration announced last week that it would limit production capacity for all 737 Max planes, including approval for additional assembly lines, until Boeing certifies that it has resolved the quality-control issues.
The company announced Wednesday that it had a loss of $30 million in the fourth quarter, an improvement from a loss of $663 million a year earlier. Sales rose to $22 billion from about $20 billion in the same period last year.
The National Transportation Safety Board is expected to release a preliminary report on the Alaska Airlines incident in the coming days.
