Boeing Q1 net losses narrow, revenues up 28% YOY

Airplane manufacturer Boeing said on Wednesday that quarterly net losses had narrowed as revenues grew, driven by an improved performance in its commercial airplane unit.

Boeing said sales had grown 28% year-on-year to $17.92bn, helping the company narrow net losses from $1.24bn to $425.0m, or $0.69 on a per share basis.

Revenues from Boeing's commercial airplane wing rose 60% to $6.7bn as deliveries of new aircraft increased. However, the company said this had been partially offset by delayed delivery compensation payments to its 787 Dreamliner customers.

Boeing added that intends to raise output of its 737 Max aircraft from 31 per month to 38 before the end of the year despite manufacturing issues affecting some aircraft.

"This is an important year for us," said chief executive Dave Calhoun. "As demand surges across our markets, we must focus together on execution and meeting our customer commitments."

As of 1320 BST, Boeing shares were up 4.12% in pre-market trading at $210.52 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com