Boeing beats 1Q profit forecasts but revenue falls

CHICAGO (AP) - Boeing topped expectations for first-quarter profit, but the aerospace giant's sales fell short of forecasts, and the shares fell in Wednesday-morning trading.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. said Wednesday that it earned $1.45 billion in the first quarter. Excluding non-repeating gains, the profit came to $2.01 per share.

The average estimate of 10 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was $1.91 per share.

Revenue was $20.98 billion. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $21.44 billion.

Boeing blamed the disappointing sales number on delayed deliveries of commercial and defense aircraft. The company delivered 169 commercial planes in the quarter, down from 176 a year earlier. Boeing said it planned for fewer deliveries of its workhorse 737 plane as it prepares to launch a new version next month.

Revenue from sales of military planes plunged 28 percent, to $2.64 billion.

Boeing expects full-year earnings in the range of $9.20 to $9.40 per share, an increase of a dime per share, as the company now expects a full-year tax rate of 31 percent instead of 32 percent.

In morning trading, the shares were down $3.01, or 1.6 percent, to $180.50.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on BA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/BA

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Keywords: Boeing, Earnings Report, Priority Earnings