BA Boeing Co

By Lisa Beilfuss 

Boeing Co. said its first-quarter profit fell as the aircraft maker delivered fewer commercial jets.

Despite the decline in earnings and sales miss, the company backed its full-year guidance. "We are pleased with out performance trends and our outlook for the year remains positive," said Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg.

Chicago-based Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, has delivered strong earnings in recent years, driven largely by booming demand for commercial jets. But earlier this year, the company issued an outlook for this year that fell well short of expectations. Boeing said it would deliver 740 to 745 commercial aircraft in 2016, down from the record-high 762 last year. Meanwhile, the company has been accelerating its move into the parts business as part of its broader effort to cut costs and secure a new, lucrative source of revenue.

In the latest quarter, the company delivered 176 commercial planes, down 4.3% from a year earlier. In turn, revenue in Boeing's commercial segment declined 6.4% to $14.4 billion. Boeing added that it began major assembly of its 787-10 ahead of schedule and said backlog at the end of the quarter was valued at $424 billion.

Higher deliveries of military aircraft helped offset the softer commercial business. Revenue from military aircraft rose by about a third, thanks to higher F-15 and C-17 deliveries. Rivals military contractors have similarly reported improved business in the first quarter. On Wednesday, Northrop Grumman and L-3 topped expectations and raised guidance, while Lockheed Martin did the same on Tuesday.

In all for the quarter, Boeing reported a profit of $1.22 billion, or $1.83 a share, down from $1.34 billion, or $1.87 a share, a year earlier. Excluding a charge related to the company's tanker program, among other items, adjusted earnings per share fell to $1.74 from $1.97.

Revenue edged 2.2% higher to $22.63 billion. Analysts had projected $1.82 in adjusted earnings per share on $21.44 billion in sales, according to Thomson Reuters.

For the year, Boeing affirmed its forecast for adjusted earnings of between $8.15 and $8.35 a share. Boeing still predicts 2016 revenue of between $93 billion and $95 billion.

Shares in the company, down 7.9% this year through Tuesday's close, slipped 1.3% in premarket trading.

Write to Lisa Beilfuss at lisa.beilfuss@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2016 08:18 ET (12:18 GMT)

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