Losses increased at Boeing's aircraft unit

The commercial aircraft arm, Boeing's largest division in terms of revenue, announced a loss of $697 million in this period. Analysts expected a deficit of $360.8 million. This figure is only a fraction of the damage reported a year ago. At that time, Boeing recorded an expense of $4.9 billion due to the postponed 777-9 wide-body jet program.

Profits at the defense and space arm rose, driven in part by the sale of a research laboratory in which Boeing has been a partner for more than two decades, as well as an increase in global defense spending, which spurred volume growth.

Boeing's shares increased by up to 1.4 percent in pre-market opening transactions. The company lost 13 percent of its value this year.

Boeing reiterated that it plans to begin deliveries of its 777-9 wide-body aircraft next year. It also aims to increase production of the 737 Max single-aisle passenger aircraft, the company's most profitable model.

"As we look ahead, expectations are rising, and they need to be. We have a stronger foundation than we did a year ago, but we still have work to do to meet our order backlog, strengthen our culture, and improve the way we work daily," CEO Kelly Ortberg said in a message to employees.

The company reported a core loss of 34 cents per share, which was higher than the 21 cent loss estimated. Total revenue rose 4 percent to $24.2 billion, beating estimates.

In particular, problems with engine delivery slowed down the increase in production speed for the 737 Max and 787 Dreamliner models. In September, Ortberg stated that Boeing had not yet achieved the “engine delivery performance” required to increase its current production rate of eight to ten 787 aircraft per month.

The aircraft manufacturer said in a statement that it was still working to stabilize production of 737 Max aircraft at 47 units per month.