Boeing: Plane-maker suspends financial guidance after Alaska blowout crisis

Boeing has suspended its financial guidance for 2024 as it battles with the fall-out from the Alaska Airlines 737-9 Max incident.

The US plane-=maker has dominated media headlines over the last month after a section of one of its jets blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight, forcing an emergency landing. The near-catastrophic incident has morphed into a full blown crisis after a string of supply chain issues with the iconic 737 Max model in recent years.

In a message to employees reported by CNBC, chief executive Dave Calhoun said: “While we often use this time of year to share or update our financial and operational objectives, now is not the time for that.”

“We will simply focus on every next airplane while doing everything possible to support our customers, follow the lead of our regulator and ensure the highest standard of safety and quality in all that we do. Ultimately – that is what will drive our performance.”

The decision overshadowed an otherwise positive set of fourth quarter results, which topped analyst expectations.

Revenues increased by $22.02bn, a ten per cent rise year-on-year and helping losses narrow to $30m, down from a prior $663m.

The planemaker said it delivered 157 commercial airplans and recorded 611 net orders in the last quarter, bringing full-year orders to 528. The company backlog, which now includes over 5,600 commercial airplanes, grew to $520bn.

But following a string of quality control issues with the 737 Max, cumulating in the catastrophic early January disaster, investor sentiment was unaffected by the news. Shares are down over 20 per cent in the last month.

Calhoun said in a statement: “While we report our financial results today, our full focus is on taking comprehensive actions to strengthen quality at Boeing, including listening to input from our 737 employees that do this work every day.”

“As we move forward, we will support our customers, work transparently with our regulator and ensure we complete all actions to earn the confidence of our stakeholders.”