Boeing reports first annual loss since 1997 as costs from 737 Max crisis escalate

Boeing Co (NYSE:BA) on Wednesday reported its first annual loss in more than two decades as costs from the 737 Max crisis rose sharply.  The airline manufacturing giant, which posted a profit of $10.46 billion in 2018, said it lost $636 million in 2019, marking the first annual loss since 1997.  But investors shrugged off the loss, pushing Boeing’s stock up 3.3% to $326 a share in pre-market trading.  READ: Boeing's MAX aircraft ‘designed by clowns’, say internal messages The company reported a loss of $2.53 billion, or $2.33 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared with a profit of $3.87 billion, or $5.48 per share, a year earlier Revenue in the last three months of 2019 dropped 37% to $17.91 billion compared with $28.34 billion in the year-earlier period. The company had negative free cash flow of $2.67 billion in the quarter ended December 31, compared with a positive free cash flow of $2.45 billion a year earlier. Boeing is struggling through a crisis stemming from two crashes of its 737 Max that killed all 346 people aboard the flights. The company this month suspended production of the planes, which regulators grounded in March after the second of the two fatal flights. The company said it expects more than $18 billion in costs related to the grounding of its 737 MAX jets, and indicated it would cut production of its bigger 787 Dreamliner aircraft. Boeing last week said it expects regulators to sign off on the 737 MAX mid-year, but the FAA has said it could come before that. Contact the author: patrick@proactiveinvestors.com Follow him on Twitter @PatrickMGraham