Boeing on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in third-quarter earnings due to the 737 MAX grounding but said it still expects regulatory approval this year to return the plane to service.
The company booked an additional USD 900 million in costs due to the MAX as it reported much lower profits than analysts expected.
The top-selling MAX has been grounded since mid-March following two deadly crashes.
However, shares advanced after Boeing reiterated its timetable for MAX regulatory approval and said it expects to fully restore MAX production levels by late 2020.
"Our top priority remains the safe return to service of the 737 MAX and we're making steady progress," said Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg.
Net income was USD 1.2 billion, down 50.6 percent from the year-ago period. Revenues tumbled 20.5 per cent to USD 20 billion, reflecting a hit from halted deliveries of the MAX.
The aviation giant, which has been in crisis mode following two MAX crashes that killed 346 people, said it "has assumed that regulatory approval of the 737 MAX return to service begins in the fourth quarter of 2019."
The company, which trimmed its MAX production level, said it also expects to "gradually increase the 737 MAX production rate from 42 per month to 57 per month by late 2020."
In a slideshow presentation, Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee told relatives that regulator's report would cite problems with the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System, a flight handling mechanism, as a "contributing factor."
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