Boeing posted a bigger quarterly loss, as its troubled defence and space business exacerbated the financial strain on the US planemaker that has already scaled back commercial aircraft production to tackle a quality crisis.
Its second-quarter net loss stood at USD 1.44 billion, the company said on Wednesday, compared with USD 149 million a year ago.
Boeing's Defence, Space and Security unit, one of its three main businesses, has lost billions of dollars in 2023 and 2022, which executives attributed to cost overruns on fixed-price contracts.
Such contracts have high margins but leave defence contractors vulnerable to inflationary pressures that have dented US corporate earnings in the last few years.
The planemaker used to bid aggressively for fixed-price contracts before the pandemic but has now said it would pivot away from such contracts to stem losses at the business, which amounted to USD 1.76 billion last year.
Ahead of last week's Farnborough Air Show, the unit's head had said it was "significantly challenged" during the quarter.
Boeing CFO Brian West said in May the planemaker will burn rather than generate cash in 2024, hamstrung by lower jet deliveries compared to last year.
The company is mired in crisis after a cabin panel on a 737 MAX 9 jet blew off midair in January, which led to a slowdown in production of its top-selling plane and a management shakeup, even as it came under intense regulatory and legal scrutiny.
The US aviation regulator has capped production of 737 MAX jets at 38 per month, though Reuters has reported that Boeing has been producing jets during some weeks at a much lower level.
That has led to lower deliveries and frustrating customers. During the second quarter, Boeing delivered a total of 92 aircraft, down 32 per cent from last year.
The company is searching for a new CEO to replace Dave Calhoun, who has decided to step down by year's end.
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