The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Boeing burns more cash than expected
One $318M charge stemmed from spat in Air Force One contract.
Boeing’s cash burn was worse than expected as tumbling 787 Dreamliner deliveries and diminished 737 Max profits signaled the company still faces a grinding recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and the longest jetliner grounding in U.S. history.
Free cash outlays totaled $3.68 billion during the first quarter, Boeing said in a statement Wednesday. That was worse than the $3.34 billion burn predicted by Wall Street. Boeing also posted a deeper-than-expected net loss and recorded a $318 million charge stemming in part from a supplier spat on its contract to build new Air Force One jets.
Once a prodigious cash generator, Boeing has burned about $30 billion since regulators grounded the best-selling Max in March 2019, after two crashes that killed 346 people. The cash consumed is roughly double what it would cost to create an all-new jetliner from scratch, one of the tasks ahead for Boeing as it tackles a massive rebuilding effort and heavy debt load.
In the first quarter, the Chicago-based company reported a core loss of $1.53 a share. Analysts had predicted a 90-cent shortfall, based on the average of estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Revenue fell 10% to $15.2 billion, about $100 million more than analysts expected.
Other reports
Alphabet: Google’s parent company said first-quarter revenue, excluding payments to distribution partners, came in at $45.6 billion, pummeling Wall
Street estimates. Youtube ad revenue surged 49% to $6 billion. Analysts were looking for $5.7 billion. Autonomous vehicles and delivery drones, generated revenue of $198 million; that division lost $1.15 billion.
Apple: Demand for the iphone drove Apple’s profits to more than double in the January-march period as the tech giant continued to capitalize on smartphone addiction. Profits came to $23.6 billion, or $1.40 per share, while revenue climbed 54% to $89.6 billion in the fiscal second quarter.
Deutsche Bank: The bank raised its outlook after beating Wall Street traders for a third straight quarter. Income from buying and selling debt securities rose 34% in the first three months of the year, compared with an average 17% gain for the largest U.S. investment banks. Net income of $1.1 billion in the first quarter was the highest since the start of 2014, beating analysts’ estimates.
Discovery: The owner of cable channels such as HGTV, TLC and Animal Planet reported disappointing streaming and advertising sales in the same quarter the company launched Discovery+. Total subscribers to all of the company’s streaming outlets stand at 15 million, having crossed 13 million at the end of the first quarter. Earnings of 21 cents a share missed analysts’ consensus expectation of 63 cents.
Facebook: The social media giant reported stronger-than-expected results for the first quarter thanks to soaring ad revenue. Earnings were $9.5 billion, or $3.30 per share, up 94% from $4.9 billion, or $1.71 per share, a year earlier. Revenue grew 48% to $26.17 billion from $17.44 billion.
Sony: The Tokyo-based electronics and media giant reported fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $1.01 billion, with a profit of 81 cents per share and revenue of $20.95 billion in the period. For the year, the company reported profit of $11.05 billion, or $8.84 per share. Revenue was reported as $84.9 billion. Toyota: Global sales in March rose 44% to 982,912 units, a record for a single month, the automaker said. The world’s largest automaker produced 843,393 units that month, up 32% from a year earlier, when the pandemic was forcing global automakers to suspend production in factories.
Yum Brands: Profit for the company that runs Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC restaurants more than tripled during the first quarter and same-store sales surged as coronavirus restrictions began to lift this year. Yum Brands earned $326 million, or $1.07 per share, for the period. In the same threemonth stretch last year, the company’s profit fell to $83 million, compared with $262 million in the same three months in 2019.