Aircraft manufacturing giant Boeing has disclosed its financial and production performance for the first quarter of 2023.
Notable amongst its performance figures is the significant increase in revenue which has been primarily driven by 130 aircraft deliveries.
The manufacturer looks set to maintain this positive momentum, stating its plans to increase production to meet an output of 38 aircraft per month later in the year.
Here are some of the key elements of Boeing’s Q1 of 2023 disclosure.
Quarter One revenue
With a total recorded revenue of $17.9 billion for the period, Boeing’s first quarter revenue for commercial aircraft rose to $6.7 billion.
Commercial aircraft returns were primarily driven by higher 737 and 787 deliveries, partially offset by 787 customer considerations (Table 4 below).
737 program
Earlier this month, the 737 program’s fuselage supplier notified Boeing that a non-standard manufacturing process was used on two fittings in the aft fuselage section of certain 737 airplanes.
This did not raise and immediate safety of flight issue and the in-service fleet can continue operating safely.
Boeing notes that this issue may affect near-term deliveries and production will be impacted as the program is subsequently forced to perform necessary inspections and rework.
Critically however, the manufacturer states that, despite this consideration, the 737 program still expects to deliver 400-450 airplanes this year.
On production, the supplier master schedule remains unchanged including anticipated production rate increases, which will result in higher inventory levels.
The company expects final assembly production to recover in the coming months with plans to increase output to 38 per month later this year, and increase further to 50 per month in the 2025/2026 timeframe.
787 program
The 787 program is producing aircraft at three per month with plans in hand to ramp up production to five per month in late 2023 and then to 10 aircraft per month in the 2025/2026 timeframe.
During the first quarter of 2023, the manufacturers Commercial Airplanes division secured net orders of 107 for the 787 model.
Notable order achievements Q1
Notable amongst the Commercial Airplanes division successes for the first quarter of the year was the securing of commitments for several bulk orders.
In particular, the manufacturer secured commitments from Air India for 190 737 MAX, 20 787, and 10 777X aircraft.
In the Middle East sector, Riyadh Air and Saudi Arabian Airlines brokered commitments for up to 121 787 aircraft.
Overall, the Commercial Airplanes division delivered 130 airplanes during the quarter and the backlog included over 4,500 airplanes valued at $334 billion.
With plans firmly in hand to ramp up production output on both the 737 and 787 program later in the year, Boeing states its expectation to deliver between 400 to 450 737 aircraft by the end of 2023.
