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Boeing flies over 4Q target
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January 17, 2001: 9:49 a.m. ET
Aircraft maker's profit soars; sales gains seen in 2001 and 2002
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Boeing Co. beat fourth-quarter earnings forecasts Wednesday and projected sales gains despite some recent order victories for competitor Airbus Industrie.
The aircraft maker earned $877 million, or $1.01 a share, in the fourth quarter, including special items. Analysts surveyed by earnings tracker First Call had expected the company to earn 91 cents a share in the period, up from net income of $662 million, or 74 cents a share, a year earlier.
 Including special charges for write-offs associated with acquisition and divestiture activities, Boeing posted net income of $481 million, or 55 cents a share, in the latest period. For the full year, net income came to $2.1 billion, or $2.44 a share, down from the $2.3 billion, or $2.49 a share, a year earlier.
Sales slipped 3 percent to $14.7 billion from the year earlier period, a record year for commercial aircraft sales. Full-year sales fell 12 percent to $51.3 billion.
Boeing released its results shortly after Northwest Airlines (NWAC: Research, Estimates) announced it is splitting its new jet order between Boeing and the European consortium Airbus Industrie. Tuesday, FedEx Corp. (FDX: Research, Estimates) reported it will be the launch customer for the cargo version of Airbus' new super-jumbo jet, the A-380.
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Still, Boeing officials said the sales outlook is strong, and it expects revenue of $57 billion in 2001, in line with Wall Street forecasts, and $62 billion in 2002. First Call's current forecast calls for 2002 revenue of $56 billion.
Free cash flow, which reflects operating cash flow less capital expenditures, is projected to be between $3 billion and $4 billion this year and above $4 billion in 2002. But that would be down from the $4.9 billion cash flow posted in 2000.
Shares of Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates), a component of the Dow Jones industrial average, opened up $1.44 to $62.44 Wednesday. 
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Boeing Co.
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