Boeing (NYSE:BA) reportedly took a $3.5-billion pre-tax charge on its 787 Dreamliners after production issues prevented the company from delivering the planes to airlines for most of the last 15 months.
The aircraft maker, however, said Wednesday that it generated positive cash flow in the fourth quarter, hitting that key milestone earlier than Boeing executives forecast. It was driven by a jump in deliveries last year of its 737 Max after regulators lifted bans on the jets after two fatal crashes.
Boeing lost $4.29 billion last year, its third annual loss in a row as the pandemic and production issues continued to hurt its bottom line. It’s an improvement from 2020 when the company lost $11.94 billion.
For the fourth-quarter, Boeing reported a net loss of $4.16 billion, less than half of the $8.44 billion it lost a year earlier. Sales fell 3% from a year ago to $14.79 billion, lower than the $16.59 billion analysts expected.
"2021 was a key rebuilding year for us, and together, we overcame significant hurdles," CEO David Calhoun told employees on Wednesday. "While we have more work to do, I am confident that we are well positioned to accelerate our progress in 2022 and beyond."
Boeing’s aircraft sales and deliveries surged last year but handovers of new planes to airlines still trailed rival Airbus.
Boeing has been hamstrung by the pause in deliveries of its 787 Dreamliners for much of the past year due to a series of manufacturing flaws, challenging customers like American Airlines (NASDAQ:AAL) and Hawaiian Airlines (NASDAQ:HA).
BA shares opened Wednesday down $4.27, or 2.1%, to 199.83.
