Boeing outdoes Wall St estimates

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. yesterday posted third-quarter net earnings of $477 million (€442 million) on revenues of $13

Aerospace giant Boeing Co. yesterday posted third-quarter net earnings of $477 million (€442 million) on revenues of $13.3 billion, surpassing Wall Street estimates and improving on year-earlier results.

The company said it earned 56 cents a share excluding nonrecurring items, $100 million in asset sales and a $141 million charge tied to waning sales of F-15 fighter jets.

Analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial had projected earnings of 49 cents a share. In the 1998 third quarter, the company earned 36 cents a share on sales of $12.7 billion.

Boeing said it expects to post revenues of $58 billion for the full year 1999, up slightly from $56.2 billion in 1998. But it projected a decline to $49 billion in 2000 as commercial jet sales slumped to a projected 480 from a record 620 expected this year.