Boeing Reports Strong First-Quarter Results

CHICAGO, April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] reported first-quarter revenue increased 8 percent to $22.1 billion on higher commercial deliveries (Table 1). Core earnings per share (non-GAAP) increased 12 percent* to $1.97, reflecting strong performance across the company, and GAAP earnings per share was $1.87. The Company reaffirmed its 2015 financial and deliveries guidance.

"With disciplined execution and a sharp focus on productivity, we are meeting increasing customer commitments while profitably growing our business," said Boeing Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney. "The strong operational and financial performance reinforces our ability to continue providing competitive returns for our shareholders while investing in technology and our people."

"Our outlook for the full year remains positive as our teams work to efficiently deliver our portfolio of industry-leading aerospace products and services. We are also maximizing the expertise of our talented people across the company to accelerate development program milestones and improve affordability for our customers."

Operating cash flow in the quarter was $0.1 billion, reflecting timing of receipts and expenditures, commercial airplane production rates and strong operating performance (Table 2). During the quarter, the company repurchased 17 million shares for $2.5 billion, leaving $9.5 billion remaining under the current repurchase authorization which is expected to be completed over approximately the next two to three years. The company also paid $0.6 billion in dividends in the quarter, reflecting an approximately 25 percent increase in dividends per share compared to the same period of the prior year.

Cash and investments in marketable securities totaled $9.6 billion at quarter-end (Table 3), down from $13.1 billion at the beginning of the year, primarily due to the share repurchases and timing of cash flows. Debt was $9.0 billion, down from $9.1 billion at the beginning of the year.

Total company backlog at quarter-end was $495 billion, down from $502 billion at the beginning of the year, and included net orders for the quarter of $15 billion.

Segment Results

Commercial Airplanes

Commercial Airplanes first-quarter revenue increased 21 percent to $15.4 billion on higher delivery volume and mix (Table 4). First-quarter operating margin was 10.5 percent, reflecting the dilutive impact of higher 787 deliveries.

During the quarter, Commercial Airplanes captured orders for 52 737 MAX airplanes. The 737 program has won over 2,700 firm orders for the 737 MAX since launch. Also during the quarter, the company opened a new Propulsion Systems facility at Boeing South Carolina that will initially support the 737 MAX and 777X, delivered the first Boeing South Carolina-built 787-9 Dreamliner and received 330-minute ETOPS certification on the 747-8 Intercontinental.

Commercial Airplanes booked 110 net orders during the quarter. Backlog remains strong with over 5,700 airplanes valued at $435 billion.

Defense, Space & Security

Defense, Space & Security's first-quarter revenue was $6.7 billion with an operating margin of 11.1 percent (Table 5).

Boeing Military Aircraft (BMA) first-quarter revenue was $2.7 billion, reflecting planned timing of deliveries and mix; operating margin was 9.5 percent. During the quarter, BMA was awarded contracts for 43 Apache helicopters.

Network & Space Systems (N&SS) first-quarter revenue was $1.7 billion, reflecting lower satellites and missile defense system program volume partially offset by higher volume on the Commercial Crew program. Operating margin increased to 9.6 percent on strong performance related to our United Launch Alliance joint venture. During the quarter, the first two all-electric Boeing 702SP satellites were launched on a single rocket.

Global Services & Support (GS&S) first-quarter revenue was $2.2 billion, reflecting slightly lower volume in integrated logistics. Operating margin increased to 14.1 percent on strong operating performance and program mix. During the quarter, GS&S was awarded a combat logistics support agreement with the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency.

Backlog at Defense, Space & Security was $60 billion, of which 37 percent represents orders from international customers.

Additional Financial Information

At quarter-end, Boeing Capital's net portfolio balance was $3.4 billion, down from $3.5 billion at the beginning of the year (Table 6). Total pension expense for the first quarter was $785 million, down from $1,035 million in the same period of the prior year. Unallocated pension expense in 2014 included a $334 million non-cash charge related to retirement plan changes.

Outlook

The company's 2015 financial and delivery guidance (Table 7) is reaffirmed and reflects continued strong performance across the company.

Non-GAAP Measures Disclosures

We supplement the reporting of our financial information determined under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) with certain non-GAAP financial information. The non-GAAP financial information presented excludes certain significant items that may not be indicative of, or are unrelated to, results from our ongoing business operations. We believe that these non-GAAP measures provide investors with additional insight into the company's ongoing business performance. These non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the related GAAP measures, and other companies may define such measures differently. We encourage investors to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. The following definitions are provided:

Core Operating Earnings, Core Operating Margin and Core Earnings Per Share

Core operating earnings is defined as GAAP earnings from operations excluding unallocated pension and post-retirement expense. Core operating margin is defined as core operating earnings expressed as a percentage of revenue. Core earnings per share is defined as GAAP diluted earnings per share excluding the net earnings per share impact of unallocated pension and post-retirement expense. Unallocated pension and post-retirement expense represents the portion of pension and other post-retirement costs that are not recognized by business segments for segment reporting purposes. Management uses core operating earnings, core operating margin and core earnings per share for purposes of evaluating and forecasting underlying business performance. Management believes these core earnings measures provide investors additional insights into operational performance as they exclude unallocated pension and post-retirement costs, which primarily represent costs driven by market factors and costs not allocable to government contracts. A reconciliation between the GAAP and non-GAAP measures is provided on page 13.

Free Cash Flow

Free cash flow is defined as GAAP operating cash flow without capital expenditures for property, plant and equipment additions. Management believes free cash flow provides investors with an important perspective on the cash available for shareholders, debt repayment, and acquisitions after making the capital investments required to support ongoing business operations and long term value creation. Free cash flow does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures as it excludes certain mandatory expenditures such as repayment of maturing debt. Management uses free cash flow as a measure to assess both business performance and overall liquidity. Table 2 provides a reconciliation between GAAP operating cash flow and free cash flow.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "should," "expects," "intends," "projects," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "targets," "anticipates," and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements. Examples of forward-looking statements include statements relating to our future financial condition and operating results, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements. Among these factors are risks related to: (1) general conditions in the economy and our industry, including those due to regulatory changes; (2) our reliance on our commercial airline customers; (3) the overall health of our aircraft production system, planned production rate increases across multiple commercial airline programs, our commercial development and derivative aircraft programs, and our aircraft being subject to stringent performance and reliability standards; (4) changing budget and appropriation levels and acquisition priorities of the U.S. government; (5) our dependence on U.S. government contracts; (6) our reliance on fixed-price contracts; (7) our reliance on cost-type contracts; (8) uncertainties concerning contracts that include in-orbit incentive payments; (9) our dependence on our subcontractors and suppliers, as well as the availability of raw materials, (10) changes in accounting estimates; (11) changes in the competitive landscape in our markets; (12) our non-U.S. operations, including sales to non-U.S. customers; (13) potential adverse developments in new or pending litigation and/or government investigations; (14) customer and aircraft concentration in Boeing Capital's customer financing portfolio; (15) changes in our ability to obtain debt on commercially reasonable terms and at competitive rates in order to fund our operations and contractual commitments; (16) realizing the anticipated benefits of mergers, acquisitions, joint ventures/strategic alliances or divestitures; (17) the adequacy of our insurance coverage to cover significant risk exposures; (18) potential business disruptions, including those related to physical security threats, information technology or cyber-attacks, epidemics, sanctions or natural disasters; (19) work stoppages or other labor disruptions; (20) significant changes in discount rates and actual investment return on pension assets; (21) potential environmental liabilities; and (22) threats to the security of our or our customers' information.

Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and we assume no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.

SOURCE Boeing