Boeing today said quarterly profit fell 43 per cent as the world's largest plane maker saw deliveries to struggling airline customers shrink, and it predicted sales and profits would keep falling next year.
Boeing posted net earnings of $372 million in the third quarter, down from $650 million a year earlier.
Including a one-time charge to write down slumping aircraft values, but excluding other one-time items, Boeing earned 46 cents per share in the quarter.
Revenue fell 7 per cent to $12.7 billion in the quarter from $13.7 billion a year ago, as commercial jet revenues declined by $1.9 billion.
Boeing's military and space unit revenues rose $468 million in the quarter to $3.8 billion, and the company confirmed earlier predictions that the unit will overtake commercial jets as its largest business for the first time in 2003.
The company's financing subsidiary, Boeing Capital, posted a pre-tax loss of $92 million, compared with a $40 million pre-tax profit a year ago.
The financing unit took a $149 million non-cash charge during the quarter to reflect the shrinking value of its aircraft portfolio, and the parent company booked a $101 million charge related to financing guarantees.
