The company raised its full-year guidance, now expecting revenue of $83 billion to $86 billion and EPS of $6.20 to $6.40. Boeing expects to deliver 635 to 645 new commercial aircraft in the year at an operating margin above 9.5%. The consensus estimate calls for EPS of $6.51 on revenues of $84.12 billion.
The company’s raised outlook for EPS still does not match the analysts’ consensus estimate. That could be caution on the company’s part, or Boeing expects something it has not yet said anything about. Something is happening here, it seems.
Boeing’s CEO said:
Continued strong core operating performance drove higher earnings, revenue and operating cash flow during the quarter, and we returned significant value to shareholders through share repurchases and increased dividends. … Overall, our strong first-half performance and positive outlook allows us to raise our 2013 earnings and revenue guidance, and our team remains intensely focused on execution, productivity and quality to meet our customer commitments and further drive growth.
Operating cash flow before voluntary pension contributions totaled $3.48 billion, up from $1.67 billion in the same period a year ago. Free cash flow totaled $3.01 billion, up from just $552 million a year ago.
The company’s order backlog at the end of the quarter totaled $410 billion, which includes net third-quarter orders worth $40 billion.
Operating margins in the company’s commercial aircraft division rose from 10.2% to 10.7% due to lower R&D costs and more deliveries. Boeing said it replaced the batteries in all 787 Dreamliners during the quarter and delivered 16 of the planes to customers.
The operating margin in Boeing’s defense division rose from 9.1% in the year-ago quarter to 9.5% this year. But sales of military aircraft fell, and sales were only flat with last year in the defense division.
Boeing’s shares are up about 1.5% in premarket trading this morning at $109.45, above a 52-week range of $69.03 to $108.15. The consensus target price for the shares was around $116.75 before today’s report.
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