Boeing Company (BA) announced that in fiscal 2009 its commercial airplane order booking tumbled 61% to only 263 gross orders compared to 662 in fiscal 2008. However, hit by the recession a number of customers either cancelled or deferred their orders, bringing down the net order to a paltry 142. The pain is expected to be shared by Boeing’s European competitor Airbus also who will release its numbers on Jan 12, 2010.
Boeing on the other hand, witnessed its commercial airplane delivery rise by 28% to 481 in fiscal 2009. The biggest seller was Boeing’s 737 series airplane. The company delivered 372 of these in fiscal 2009, and still has orders for another 2,076. Boeing’s total backlog for all commercial aircraft at year-end fiscal 2009 stood at 3,375. Boeing will provide its commercial airplane delivery guidance for fiscal 2010 on Jan 27, when it reports its fiscal 2009 financial results.
Headquartered in Chicago, Boeing is the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial jet liners and military aerospace products (based on total sales). Boeing designs and produces commercial airplanes, defense systems, and civil and defense space systems. It is also the largest NASA contractor. Non-airplane products include helicopters, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, rocket engines, launch vehicles, and advanced information and communication systems.
Boeing is one of the best-positioned companies among its defense peers due to its balanced exposure to commercial aircraft and defense equipment. Defense peers like Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT) and Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC) dabble only in defense equipment.
Going forward we believe Boeing’s $320 billion order backlog, strong order booking, stable cash flow generation and a globally diversified customer base will help maintain the growth momentum. However, a bearish commercial aerospace market, apprehension over growth in defense spending, and delays in the launch of the 787 series jetliner will affect Boeing’s performance in the near term.
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Read the full analyst report on “LMT”
Read the full analyst report on “NOC”
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