BOEING GAVE investors a bitter reminder of the price the aerospace company must now pay for its mis-steps in developing both the 787 and 747-8 commercial aircraft programmes.

The company reported a quarterly net loss of more than $1.5 billion, missed Wall Street’s revenue expectations and slashed its annual profit forecast by more than half.

Delays to both the 787 and 747-8 have battered Boeing’s results and damaged the company’s credibility with investors and customers, including many of the world’s largest airlines. Nevertheless, Boeing executives stuck with a forecast that its first 787 flight will come before the end of the year, with first delivery scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Jim McNerney, Boeing’s chief executive, said yesterday: “As you’ve heard me say, we know we can and must do better on our development programmes.”

The 787 is the highly anticipated wide-body aircraft that claims much greater fuel economy than its predecessors, while the 747-8 is an updated version of the classic jumbo jet.

In the third-quarter, mis-steps from the two programmes cost Boeing a combined $3.59 a share, or a total of $3.6 billion.

“The 787 cost reclassification and the 747 charge for increased costs and difficult market conditions clearly overshadowed what continues to be otherwise solid performance across our commercial production programmes and defence business,” Mr McNerney said.

Boeing expects to earn $1.35-$1.55 a share this year, down from a forecast of $4.70-$5.

Mr McNerney also said Boeing would fall short of its goal of eliminating 10,000 jobs by the end of the year. However, he predicted the final tally would exceed that goal in 2010. Boeing’s workforce stood at just over 158,000 at the end of September.

Shares in the Chicago company, which have climbed 22 per cent this year, slipped 41 cents, or 0.8 per cent, to $51.48 in midday trading in New York.

The third-quarter net loss of $1.56 billion, or $2.23 a share, compared with net income of $695 million, or 96 cents, a year earlier. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)