By Dave Carpenter
Associated Press
CHICAGO – Boeing Co. said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter profits fell 79 percent as the company was buffeted by the downturn in aviation after the Sept. 11 attacks.
The world’s biggest airplane manufacturer managed to boost revenues by 7 percent over the previous year, but Boeing projected revenue would fall for both 2002 and 2003 as the industry’s decline takes full effect.
The company said it expects to deliver about 380 airplanes in 2002, down from 527 last year.
“Looking ahead, we are entering a challenging period, but with businesses that are performing well,” said Boeing chairman and CEO Phil Condit.
Net earnings were $100 million, or 12 cents a share, down from $481 million, or 55 cents a share, a year earlier. The company took $622 million in charges, largely related to the attacks, including moves to lay off as many as 30,000 of its 95,000 employees as a result of weakened demand.
Excluding those charges, earnings were 90 cents a share, matching the estimate of Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call. Revenues climbed to $15.7 billion from $14.7 billion in the same period of 2000.
Boeing shares rose 52 cents to $40.30 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange – down from almost $70 last May but up sharply since hitting a six-year low of $27.61 in the days after the attacks.
On the Net:
Boeing: http://www.boeing.com
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