Boeing suspended its financial guidance and said it is focused solely on 'comprehensive actions' to improve the quality of its planes

Angle down iconAn icon in the shape of an angle pointing down. A Boeing 737 Max. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images

• Boeing suspended its financial forecast for 2024 as it reported its fourth quarter earnings Wednesday.
• "Our full focus is on taking comprehensive actions to strengthen quality at Boeing," CEO Dave Calhoun said.
• Boeing is under heavy scrutiny following the Alaska Airlines door plug blowout earlier in January.

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Boeing suspended its financial forecast for 2024 as it reported its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, amid scrutiny following the Alaska Airlines blowout.

"While we often use this time of year to share or update our financial and operational objectives, now is not the time for that," Boeing CEO Dave Calhoun said in a memo to employees.

"Our full focus is on taking comprehensive actions to strengthen quality at Boeing, including listening to input from our 737 employees that do this work every day," Calhoun said in a press release.

"As we move forward, we will support our customers, work transparently with our regulator and ensure we complete all actions to earn the confidence of our stakeholders," he added.

In the earnings report, Boeing said it "continues to cooperate transparently with the FAA following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident."

A door plug, which covers a deactivated emergency exit, came off in midair on January 5 — forcing an emergency landing. The 737 Max 9 was delivered to the airline just 66 days earlier.

Nobody was seriously injured as the plane returned to Portland International Airport 20 minutes after takeoff, but the incident has raised serious questions about Boeing's quality-control processes.

When National Transportation Safety Board investigators recovered the door plug, they learned four bolts securing it to the plane were missing. The Wall Street Journal reported that the plane left Boeing's factory without the bolts in place.

171 Max 9 jets were grounded by the Federal Aviation Administration the day after the blowout. Following inspections, Alaska Airlines began flying some Max 9 jets again last Friday.

Last week, Alaska Airlines said it expects a $150 million hit due to the grounding.

Boeing managed to cut its net loss for the quarter to $30 million, down from $660 million in 2022. Its revenue was also up 10% compared to the same period in the previous year.

With a total of 1,576 net orders last year, Boeing was behind Airbus for the fifth year running as the European manufacturer set records with 2,094 net orders.

Boeing is producing 38 of its 737 jets a month, it added. The FAA announced last Wednesday that it won't let Boeing expand production of the 737 Max.