His finances are gradually improving, however, as his flagship aircraft, the 737 MAX, returns to the skies.

But after the setbacks linked to this device and to the pandemic, the aeronautical manufacturer is caught up with manufacturing defects on the 787.

First defects were discovered at the end of summer 2020. As the device was closely examined, other problems have since appeared.

Boeing had to suspend deliveries, from November 2020 to March 2021 initially, then from the end of May, and reduce production rates.

The group does not wish to advance on a return date as long as discussions with the American authority in charge of aviation are in progress.

It has already recorded in the fourth quarter a charge of 3.5 billion dollars related to late deliveries and compensation granted to customers.

Boeing also predicts that the slowdown in production and the additional work to be carried out will be a total source of additional “abnormal costs” not of 1 billion dollars, as anticipated in October, but of 2 billion.

These sums weigh on the accounts: Boeing lost 4.1 billion dollars over the period, and 4.2 billion dollars over the whole of 2021.

The American group, which was first hit by the long immobilization of the 737 MAX in 2019 and 2020 after two fatal accidents, then by the drop in air traffic at the start of the pandemic, thus records its third year of losses in a row. .

"Year of Reconstruction"

The manufacturer also recorded in the fourth quarter a charge of 406 million on the KC-46 tanker, linked to the evolution of customer needs for the remote vision system and problems in the supply chain.

Boeing boss Dave Calhoun still believes that 2021 has been "a year of rebuilding".

Among the good news, the aircraft manufacturer returned to positive cash flow in the fourth quarter, for the first time since the first quarter of 2019.

Boeing has also slightly reduced its debt, which stood at $58.1 billion at the end of December.

The manufacturer can also count on the 737 MAX, which has gradually resumed service since the end of 2020.

China in particular officially judged in December that the plane was fit to fly again and the companies of the country are preparing for its return to service, recalled Mr. Calhoun during a conference call, assuring that the group was ready to to resume deliveries there by the end of March.

As for the future 777X long-haul aircraft, Boeing is still planning the first deliveries for the end of 2023 after having postponed this deadline several times.

The company has started to offer a freighter version of this aircraft to its customers and therefore plans to increase production of the aircraft from two to three per month, said chief financial officer Brian West.

Boeing's revenue rose 7% for the full year to $62.3 billion.

On the other hand, it fell by 3% to 14.8 billion in the fourth quarter.

The American manufacturer saw its orders rebound in 2021 after two years of scarcity and is now neck and neck with Airbus on this plan, but Boeing's deliveries still remained well below those of its European competitor last year.

For Michel Merluzeau, of the specialist firm AIR, passing the bulk of the costs of the difficulties of the 787 in 2021 "is wise" because it allows the group "to start 2022 with more clarity on the results", just when it starts again to free up cash.

Boeing "is still far from out of the woods" on the 787, with possible repercussions on the chain of subcontractors, and "does not seem to be able to extricate itself from the problems of the KC-46", remarks- he.

The action fell 2.9% in mid-session on Wall Street after much hesitation in the publication of results.

© 2022 AFP