Boeing profit rises, revenue slips; full-year profit target lifted

By Alwyn Scott

(Reuters) - Boeing Co on Wednesday reported a 19 percent rise in first-quarter profit despite declining revenue, and it boosted its forecast for full-year earnings.

The world's biggest plane maker said it earned $1.45 billion, or $2.34 per share, compared with $1.22 billion, or $1.83 per share, a year earlier.

The company's core earnings, which exclude some pension and other costs, rose to $2.01 per share from $1.74, beating the analysts' consensus estimate of $1.94, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Boeing increased its full-year forecast for core profit to a range of $9.20 to $9.40 a share, up 10 cents. The company did not change is forecast of delivering 760-765 commercial aircraft in 2017 and also left its revenue target unchanged at $90.5 billion to $92.5 billion.

Revenue fell 7.3 percent to $20.98 billion, missing the consensus estimate of $21.30 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company were down 1.6 percent in pre-market trade to $180.57.

The decline in revenue came as commercial aircraft deliveries fell to 169 from 176, and because last year's revenue figure included delivery of three C-17 military transport aircraft, a plane Boeing has stopped making.

Deliveries of 737s also dipped as Boeing built 737 MAX 8 jets that it plans to begin delivering this quarter, now that the plane has regulatory certification.

While Boeing delivered two fewer 777s in the quarter, it delivered two more 787s.

The results showed the effect of Boeing's cost-cutting and factory productivity improvements, which helped increase profits as revenue declined. Boeing is honing its ability to make 787s, and the larger 787-9 model is more profitable than the earlier version.

Boeing's KC-46 aerial refueling tanker continued to weigh on results.

(Additional reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Bernard Orr)