Boeing sales and profit fall amid continuing 737 Max woes

Boeing on Wednesday reported a sharp decline in revenue and profits as it continues to struggle with the fallout from two deadly crashes of its 737 Max airliner. 

The company said that net income fell to $1.17 billion from $2.63 billion in the year-ago quarter. Revenue for the period slid to $20 billion, down 21% from the year-ago period.

Boeing is under pressure on multiple fronts, including a revelation earlier this month that a company test pilot suspected that a system meant to prevent the 737 Max from crashing had “egregious” issues. That prompted Wall Street analysts, from UBS and Credit Suisse, to suggest Boeing could lose as much as $53 billion from its market value amid mounting questions about whether the company moved fast enough to correct the aircraft’s problems.

Boeing shares rose 3% in early trading as financial results were less dire than some analysts had forecast.

Aviation regulators slam Boeing and FAA over approval of 737 Max planes

On Wednesday, Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said the company’s chief goal is to return the 737 Max to service.

“Our top priority remains the safe return to service of the 737 Max, and we’re making steady progress,” Muilenburg said in a statement. “We’ve also taken action to further sharpen our company’s focus on product and services safety, and we continue to deliver on customer commitments and capture new opportunities with our values of safety, quality and integrity always at the forefront.”     

Earlier this month, Boeing’s board stripped Muilenburg of his dual role as chief executive and chairman and elevated the company’s lead director, David Calhoun, to chairman. And on Tuesday, Boeing replaced Kevin McAllister, the chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, with Stanley Deal, leader of Boeing’s services division.

McAllister was recruited from General Electric’s jet-engine operation to run Boeing’s biggest division in 2016, just months before the 737 Max went into service. Boeing did not specify whether he quit or was fired.

—With reporting by The Associated Press.