Boeing Defense Revenue Up Despite Charge on New Air Force One Program

Boeing Co. reported its sixth straight loss in its first-quarter earnings report April 28, including a new charge on the Air Force One replacement program.

Overall, Boeing reported $15.217 billion in revenue, down from $16.908 billion in the first quarter of 2020. Company CEO David L. Calhoun said COVID-19 impacts are lingering but that now is “a key inflection point for our industry as vaccine distribution accelerates and we work together across government and industry to help enable a robust recovery.”

Boeing Defense, however, reported $7.185 billion in revenue for the first quarter of 2021, up from $6.042 in the same period last year. The increased revenue in its military and space sector was spurred largely by KC-46 contract awards, including Lots 6 and 7 contracts for 27 KC-46s, along with P-8 and V-22 contracts, the company said. However, the company reported a $318 million pre-tax charge for the Air Force One VC-25B program “largely due to COVID-19 impacts and performance issues at a key supplier.”

The supplier, GDC Technics LLC, recently filed for bankruptcy after Boeing canceled its contracts because of schedule delays, causing missed deadlines, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Unlike several recent earnings reports, Boeing did not disclose another charge on the KC-46 program. The company, in its fourth quarter of 2020 earnings report, surpassed more than $5 billion in overruns on that program.