CHICAGO – Boeing posted its first profit in nearly two years on Wednesday (July 28) as airline deliveries of its best-selling 737 MAX jets gained momentum amid a sharp recovery in travel bookings following a surge in Covid-19 vaccinations worldwide.
The 737 MAX is an integral part of Boeing’s financial recovery as the U.S. aircraft maker seeks to offset billions of dollars in lost sales from the pandemic and fix manufacturing-related structural defects on its larger, more profitable 787 aircraft.
CEO David Calhoun said the company now plans to keep the headcount stable at around 140,000, having previously targeted a reduction to 130,000 by the end of 2021.
Boeing currently builds 16,737 MAX jets per month. The company has announced that it will increase production of the jet to 31 per month through early 2022.
Boeing’s core operating income was $ 755 million ($ 1 billion) for the second quarter ended June 30, compared to a loss of $ 3.32 billion a year earlier. Sales rose 44 percent to around $ 17 billion.
According to Refinitiv’s IBES data, on average, analysts expected Boeing to report a quarterly loss of $ 454.8 million on revenue of $ 16.54 billion.
