Delays in two key programs, one in commercial airplanes and the other in defense, put a dent in Boeing’s results for the second quarter, which were reported Wednesday.

The 15-month delay in the delivery of the first 787 Dreamliner and a two-year pushback in the delivery of Airborne Early Warning and Control aircraft to Australia increased Boeing’s expenses and delayed expected income from those programs.

Nonetheless, Boeing Chairman Jim McNerney said the company’s large backlog and comfortable financial position will allow it to continue to grow over the long run.

“Strong global demand of our products and services, a record backlog and a sustained focus of productivity improvement and execution will continue to drive growth and profitability for this company,” McNerney said.

Profit during the quarter was down 19 percent to $852 million. Earnings per share dropped by 14 percent to $1.16. Without a $248 million write-down in the Australian AEWC program, earnings would have been up three cents over last year to $1.38.

Boeing stock fell $2.54 Wednesday after the earnings announcement. It closed at $66.72.

Earnings for the full year and for 2009 should be the same as the company had earlier projected: Earnings per share for 2008 should be $5.70 to $5.85 a share; for 2009, they should be $6.80 to $7.00 a share, said James Bell, Boeing’s chief financial officer.

The company’s revenues were essentially flat for the quarter at $16.96 billion. Earnings from operations fell 17 percent to $1.25 billion. Operating margins fell by 1.4 percentage points to 7.4 percent.

Wall Street analysts seemed surprised by the dip in earnings.

Paul Nisbet, an analyst with JSA Research, told The Associated Press that the quarterly results were “poor, surprisingly so.”

“The company didn’t telegraph anything that would have led us to believe that the costs were going to go up for the infrastructure for the complete commercial airplane operation because of the delay of the 787s,” he said in an interview.

“And I think they were remiss in not doing that,” Nisbet said. “That was the only real surprise.”

On the plus side, Boeing’s backlog – the number of planes ordered but not built – continued to grow. It totaled $346 billion at the end of the second quarter, up 24 percent from the same quarter.

At the Seattle-based commercial airplanes division, the backlog grew to $275 billion, some eight times the division’s annual revenues.

Both McNerney and Bell said Boeing should be able to handle whatever setbacks the airline industry suffers because of the fuel and financial crises.

“We believe we are in a good position to weather the current volatilities,” said McNerney.

The company’s airliner backlog is so large and so diverse that delivery postponements and cancellations can be absorbed without major production rollbacks or layoffs like the company has experienced in previous downturns, they said.

Only 10 percent of the company’s orders for new airliners, for instance, are from U.S. carriers. And Boeing continues to add to its eight-year backlog with annual orders well in excess of annual production rates.

The company expects to produce 475 to 480 commercial jets in 2008, and 500 to 505 in 2009. Through July 15, Boeing has booked 542 orders for new airliners this year.

John Gillie: 253-597-8663

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