Boeing loss blamed on delays with 2 new jets

Boeing Co.'s ambitions seem to have outflown its abilities, as the company's plans to reinvent the way jetliners are built keep faltering, forcing it yesterday to post a big loss in the third quarter.

The airplane-maker has struggled to get its 787 passenger plane and a revamped version of the 747 jumbo jet off the ground. Delays, parts shortages, and last-minute fixes have cost it billions in extra expenses and lost time. That is on top of weak demand for aircraft as air travel and freight shipments take a hit during the recession.

The company is based in Chicago, but its helicopter division is based in Ridley Township, where it has 5,400 employees.

Boeing's problems also have arisen from a new approach to manufacturing. In recent years, it has outsourced manufacturing and engineering work to suppliers around the world. It has also started using carbon-composite parts to reduce weight and improve fuel efficiency.

Those technological leaps have proved popular in the marketplace - the new 787 has more orders than any other new plane - but troublesome for the company.

"We experienced a bridge-too-far, leading-edge kind of development, which is what we are trying to recover from right now," Boeing chief executive officer Jim McNerney said.

During the quarter, Boeing's sales edged up 9 percent, but charges of more than $3.6 billion for the 787 and 747-8 programs resulted in a loss of $1.6 billion, or $2.23 a share. It was a disappointing shift from a year earlier, when the company earned $695 million, or 96 cents a share.

The charges also led Boeing to cut its 2009 profit forecast to $1.35 to $1.55 a share from $4.70 to $5 a share.

Matt Collins, an analyst at Edward Jones, said he was not surprised by Boeing's results.

"Right now, there's not much they can say to regain investor confidence," he said. "They just need to execute."

The new 747 and 787 have had their original test-flights and deliveries to customers pushed back by years. That is partly because suppliers have botched certain work, such as the installation of fasteners that hold the plane together.