Boeing Commercial Airplanes posted operating earnings of $777 million on revenue of $8.6 billion in the second quarter of 2008, a 6 percent drop from the $960 million operating profit reported for the year earlier period.

Costs associated with delays of the 787 production schedule were given as one reason for the decline in revenue and earnings.

BCA does not break down the number of passenger versus freighter aircraft sold in its financial statements, but the manufacturer didn't sell any freighters during the first quarter or first half of 2008, said company spokesman Bob Saling. It did, however, deliver nine 747-400 freighters, of which five were 747-400 extended range freighters. And the lion's share of revenue comes at the time of delivery. The average list price of a 747-400 freighter is around $245 million, said Saling.

For the first half, BCA revenue rose 3 percent to $16.7 billion on higher deliveries offset somewhat by lower aircraft trading volume and customer mix.

Operating earnings grew 6 percent to $1.8 billion.

"While we faced some challenges this quarter that affected our results, we remain confident in our outlook for the remainder of this year and 2009," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNerney. A record backlog of airplane orders will help drive profitability, he added.

BCA booked 187 commercial aircraft orders during the quarter and 476 during the first half. The contractual backlog rose to a record $275 billion for the quarter, an 8 percent year-to-date increase, nearly eight times BCA's annual earnings.

Boeing expects to deliver between 475 and 480 airplanes for 2008 and between 500 and 505 aircraft in 2009, including 25 787 Dreamliners. The company expects to deliver more commercial aircraft in 2010 than 2009.

With the revised production schedule, BCA expects the first flight of the 787 to occur during the fourth quarter of 2008, with first delivery in the third quarter of 2009. So far, BCA has won orders for 896 Dreamliners from 58 customers.

The Boeing Company overall, which includes the defense and space systems units, posted a 19 percent decline in second quarter net earnings.

Robert W. Moorman