Plane maker Boeing's first-quarter profits shot up 29% on a big jump in commercial plane deliveries.
The US aerospace giant said net profit came to $692m in the January-March period, translating into earnings per share of 88 cents. Revenue grew 12% to $14.3 billion. Excluding a once-off gain, the per-share profit was 85 cents, well ahead of analysts' forecast for 75 cents.
'Strong overall performance, combined with a significant increase in commercial airplane deliveries, drove this quarter's results,' Boeing chief executive Jim McNerney said.
Boeing's commercial airplanes group, whose strong order book has helped lift the company's stock to record highs this month, recorded a 48% revenue rise to $7.1 billion as plane deliveries rose to 98 from 70 in the quarter.
Meanwhile, the company's defence operations are restructuring to cope with what is expected to be a slower growth rate for the Pentagon's budgets.
