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Boeing expects recovery
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March 21, 2000: 10:39 a.m. ET
Strike to hit first-half delivery, profit, but 2nd half seen recovering lost revenue
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Boeing Co. said Tuesday it believes it can recover from the 40-day engineering strike without a large drop in revenue for the year, but it will take a hit in the first half.
"Commercial airplane deliveries in the first quarter will be affected, as will deliveries in the second quarter," Chief Financial Officer Debby Hopkins said. "We expect these declines to be offset by increased commercial deliveries in the third and fourth quarters."
The guidance is in line with expectations of analysts who have been lowering their estimates for Boeing (BA: Research, Estimates) in the first two quarters but raising estimates for the second half of the year since the strike began Feb. 9.
The overall forecast for the year by analysts surveyed by First Call has slipped to $2.39 a share from $2.42 the day the strike started. The company earned $2.37 a share in 1999, and Hopkins' statement said matching 1999 is its goal for this year, although her statement included cautions that could lead those estimates slightly lower.
"At this point, there is some uncertainty that a preliminary assessment cannot capture, which we would hope to mitigate and eliminate as we proceed with our recovery plan," she warned. "At this point, it would be appropriate to focus on the conservative side of our margin guidance."
Members of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace ratified a new contract with the company Sunday and returned to work Monday. Their absence had virtually stopped delivery of new aircraft during the strike. The company delivered only three aircraft so far in March, after delaying half of the 30 aircraft due for delivery from Feb. 9 to 29.
The union won signing bonuses and preserved benefit packages that were among the key sticking points in the labor dispute.
Shares of Dow component Boeing rose 1/8 to 37-1/8 in trading Tuesday morning. 
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