Boeing Reports Loss, Hit by Dreamliner and Starliner Setbacks

Boeing has sold more jets than rival

Airbus

SE this year, and efforts to cut costs have helped reduce the drain on its finances. But it is still hampered by manufacturing problems that have frozen most 787 deliveries for much of the past year and technical issues that forced its Starliner spacecraft launch to be scrubbed.

The company took a $183 million charge in the latest quarter to cover disrupted Dreamliner production, which has been slowed to about two a month from around five after Boeing accumulated more than 100 jets awaiting delivery. Boeing estimated on Wednesday the cost of the disrupted production could be as high as $1 billion.

The $185 million charge on the Starliner space taxi follows a $410 million hit last year to pay for a new launch after the first in December 2019 failed to reach the correct orbit. Faulty valves thwarted another launch attempt during the summer, with the flight now delayed until next year.

Boeing Chief Executive

David Calhoun

said in an internal message Wednesday the charges reinforced “the importance of our efforts to enhance our own performance and drive stability in our operations.”

Mr. Calhoun likened work on the Dreamliner to earlier fixes of the 737 MAX, noting the company’s plans to produce 31 of those jets a month early next year, up from 19 currently. Boeing made various fixes to the MAX jet’s software, hardware and related training package while regulators grounded the aircraft for nearly two years.

The net loss of $132 million in the quarter compared with a $466 million loss in the year-ago period. Sales climbed 8% to $15.3 billion. The per-share loss of 19 cents compared with 79 cents a year earlier.

Boeing burned $262 million in cash during the quarter compared with $4.8 billion a year earlier. The improvement was helped by cost cuts, receipts from airplane deliveries and a tax gain. The core loss of 60 cents, which excludes pension costs, was better than the loss of 20 cents estimated by analysts polled by FactSet.

The company’s shares were slightly lower in morning trading.

Boeing’s services arm was its most profitable in the quarter. Sales of spare parts is an area of growth for aerospace right now as airlines return parked aircraft to service, and revenue at the services unit in the quarter almost matched those of the core commercial airplanes business.

Over the past year, Boeing has been dealing with a series of production defects with its 787 Dreamliner, the popular wide-body jet often used on long-haul flights. The manufacturing problems have drawn increased scrutiny from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane maker has built up an inventory of more than 100 Dreamliners worth more than $25 billion as it addresses defects and seeks regulatory approval for inspections before handing over the jets to customers.

Boeing expects to boost production of its Dreamliner after it resumes deliveries—though Mr. Calhoun said on CNBC he couldn’t predict when that would happen. The market for wide-body jets has been depressed during the Covid-19 pandemic as countries around the world imposed travel restrictions. That has eased pressure on Boeing while it addresses Dreamliner production issues.

Boeing has been hoping for significant aircraft deals with Chinese customers amid continued U.S. trade tensions with the country. China’s aviation regulators haven’t approved the 737 MAX to resume flying customers, but Mr. Calhoun said on CNBC the authorities have been working hard on the aircraft’s recertification.

Write to Doug Cameron at doug.cameron@wsj.com and Andrew Tangel at Andrew.Tangel@wsj.com