Boeing trims annual 737 delivery target due to supplier errors

(Reuters) - Boeing on Wednesday cut its 737 delivery forecast for this year due to quality issues at supplier Spirit AeroSystems, a temporary setback to the planemaker that is looking to recover from its own set of crises.

The company was aiming to deliver 400 to 450 737 jets in 2023 but was forced to temper that goal to 375 to 400 jets after two separate quality issues at Spirit, which makes fuselages for the cash-cow narrowbody jets.

Despite falling short on projected 737 deliveries, Boeing stuck to its goal of generating $3 billion to $5 billion in free cash flow and intends to keep its 737 production ramp up plan intact.

It also plans to meet a delivery target of at least 70 widebody 787 Dreamliners in 2023 and is transitioning from a production rate of four to five jets per month.

Meanwhile, the company's ailing defense business continues to struggle with cost overruns on fixed price contracts due to inflationary pressures.

It reported another quarter of negative margins due to charges on the next-generation Air Force One and an unspecified satellite program.

Earlier this month, Boeing said it had expanded the scope of its inspections of a production defect arising from misdrilled holes that affect its bestselling 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

"I have heard those outside our company wondering if we've lost a step. I view it as quite the opposite," said Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun in a letter to employees.

"Thanks to the culture we're building, we have identified non-conformances from the past that we now have the rigor to find and fix once and for all."

The company delivered 70 737 aircraft in the third quarter, down 20%. Planemakers get a bulk of the payment when they handover jets, so delivery numbers are closely watched.

Boeing has worked to step up deliveries to speed up its recovery from overlapping safety and pandemic-induced crises but has faced disruptions for the second year in a row, though demand for jets is booming.

It was forced to cut its 2022 delivery goal due to industry-wide supply and labor shortages, some of which have abated this year.

Analysts, however, remain upbeat on Boeing's prospects given the bulging jet order books that should provide a bulwark against any economic downturn.

(Reporting by Abhijith Ganapavaram in Bengaluru and Valerie Insinna in Washington; Editing by Arun Koyyur)