Boeing's profits

Boeing reported profits and revenue growth of 44% in the second quarter as airlines resumed orders for the company's commercial jets. Analysts suggest Boeing is starting to emerge from a deep crisis.

Shares in Boeing (BA) rose 4.2% on Wednesday after the biggest US aircraft maker posted its first profit in almost two years.

For the second quarter ended June 30, Boeing reported an increase in earnings per share to $0.40, compared with an analyst forecast loss per share of $0.81. The profit amounted to $587 million, after a loss of $2.38 billion in the same period last year, when the air giant suffered losses while compensating airlines for grounding Boeing 737 Max aircraft. These planes had been out of service around the world for more than 1.5 years because of two plane crashes.

Boeing's total quarterly revenues rose 44% to $17 billion, above Wall Street's average estimate of $16.6 billion.

Boeing sales

Boeing's largest segment, commercial aircraft, is still in dire straits compared to the pre-pandemic period, but thanks to large orders from customers such as United Airlines (UAL) and Southwest Airlines (LUV), its revenues have risen sharply.

Thanks to an increase in quarterly aircraft deliveries from 20 to 79 units, Boeing's commercial aircraft segment revenues rose 268% year-on-year to $6.02bn, exceeding analysts' forecast of $6.00bn. However, the segment still posted a negative profitability of 7.8%.

While 737 Max flights were resumed in November following a decision by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US and other countries, Chinese authorities have yet to approve the aircraft's return to service.

In addition, sales growth is being held back by the suspension of deliveries of the wide-body 787 Dreamliner due to the discovery of a manufacturing error.

Revenue from defence, space and military orders rose 4 percent to $6.88 billion, also exceeding expectations of $6.78 billion. Profitability in the defence orders segment rose to 13.9 percent from 5.6 percent last year. Revenues at Boeing Global Services also rose 17 percent to $4.07 billion, exceeding expectations of $3.69 billion.

The service division's profitability increased from 11.9% to 13.1%.