Boeing capped off a turbulent year with its largest quarterly loss in history with a total sales loss of $12 billion (€9.89 billion) and adjusted stock losses of $15.25.
Photo: Bartlomiej Mostek / Creative Commons Licence: CC BY
The aerospace giant has been the subject of tariffs since 2018 owing to a currently ongoing feud with its transatlantic rival Airbus and suffered huge demand losses owing to restricted travel owing to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more: Airbus calls for settlement as US slaps more tariffs on aerospace products
Wall Street analysts predicted a $2.06 per share loss compared with $15.2 billion (€12.5 billion) in sales, however, the $6.2 billion pretax on the company's new 777X program went unnoticed and caused the difference.
Delivery on the project has been delayed by two years owing to the pandemic with the original plan to greenlight it for flight at some point this year.
The coronavirus only exacerbated problems the company was facing in the wake of the two 737 crashes which caused the model to be temporarily grounded owing to reported engineering difficulties.
The crashes lead to increased certification criteria for the airliner, which has prompted the delay for their new model.
CEO Dave Calhoun, who appeared on CNBC's Squawk on the Street, said he was glad "2020 was in the rear-view mirror."
He added: “We are determined to meet every compliance requirement from every regulator in the world on day one, which meant that we had to incorporate a few design changes.
“It is going to be a little more costly, it is going to take a little longer ultimately to certify.”
Boeing's fourth-quarter revenue dropped 15% from 2019 levels, with total sales of $15.3 billion (€12.6 billion).
The airliner doesn't expect a positive bounceback until at least 2022.
Despite the crashes, the Boeing 737 MAX has been given the clearance to fly in both the US and Europe.
Read more: Europe to green light Boeing 737 MAX return to the skies
However, the families of those lost in the crash as well as support groups continue to protest the model returning to the skies prematurely.
The Federal Aviation Administration, the US certifier, has been accused of taking a lax approach to approving the MAX.
The UK has also suspended its tariffs on Boeing due to its withdrawal from the European Union.
There have also been calls from bloc member states to resolve the dispute, as the entire ordeal has serious consequences on the economies and import/exports of both parties.
Airbus has also called for an end to the feud following the Trump administration slapping further tariffs on the British aerospace company before leaving office.
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