Boeing profit up on stronger airliner sales

Boeing Co, the world's largest aerospace and defence company, posted a higher quarterly net profit on Wednesday, helped by an increase in commercial airplane deliveries, and raised its earnings forecast for the year.

The company said its first-quarter net profit was $923 million, or $1.22 per share, compared with $586 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company, which competes with EADS unit Airbus for orders, said revenue rose 30% to $19.4 billion, topping expectations for $18.4 billion. The company said its order backlog at the end of the quarter was $380 billion, up from $356 billion at the beginning of the year.

The company increased its profit forecast for 2012 to a range of $4.15 per share to $4.35 per share. The previous upper end of the range had been $4.25 per share. The company reaffirmed its 2012 revenue outlook, which is in a range of $78 billion to $80 billion.