Boeing-supplier Spirit burns more cash on supply chain snarls

Boeing-supplier Spirit burns more cash on supply chain snarls

(Reuters) – Spirit AeroSystems Holdings Inc on Tuesday reported a higher-than-expected cash burn for the fourth quarter as a fractured supply chain forced the aerospace parts maker to hold on to inventory.

Shares of the Boeing supplier were down 5% at $32.60 in light premarket trade.

Although a recovery in air travel has benefited Boeing and Airbus SE, supply and labor shortages have capped output at both planemakers.

That has left suppliers such as Spirit with more parts unsold, hurting cash flow and crimping their recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“2022 was a challenging year for the entire industry as we worked through supply chain part shortages and labor attrition, which impacted overall deliveries and profitability,” Spirit Chief Executive Tom Gentile said.

The Wichita, Kansas-based company reported a quarterly cash burn of $66 million, compared with analysts estimates of $42.64 million, according to Refinitiv data.

Quarterly shipset delivery for Boeing was 103 versus 71 last year. For Airbus, shipset deliveries were 177 against 164 last year. A shipset refers to sets of structural fuselage components produced or delivered for one aircraft.

Spirit reported a quarterly loss of $243.1 million, or $2.32 per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, against a loss of $120.3 million, or $1.15 per share, last year.

Quarterly revenue rose about 23% to $1.32 billion.