Photo: Boeing

Despite The Boeing Company‘s COVID-19 and 737 MAX aircraft-related woes, it’s Defense, Space & Security division posted a 2020 Fourth Quarter (Q4) revenue increase of 14% year-over-year. The division brought in $6.8 billion in revenue from various fighter aircraft and satellite manufacturing contracts. This is exactly how much revenue the division reported in the previous quarter.

During the quarter, Defense, Space & Security completed its design review for both the Wideband Global SATCOM-11+ (WGS) communications satellite and the upper stage for NASA‘s Space Launch System. Boeing recently announced its plans to launch its CST-100 Starliner crew module on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket on March 25.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security’s backlog at the end of the Full Year (FY 2020) stood at $61 billion, with 32% of its backlog coming from customers outside of the United States.

These increases were essentially the only bright spot in the company’s Q4 2020 and FY 2020 report. The financial outlook for the division’s parent company was much more grim.

Boeing reported a $11.9 billion net loss in FY20 — a record for the company — after posting an $8.4 billion net loss in Q420. Boeing’s Q420 revenue declined 15% from the same period last year to $15.3 billion. Most of these losses were attributed to COVID-19-related setbacks and ongoing issues with its 737 MAX aircraft, which only recently received regulatory approval to resume operations.

“Our balanced portfolio of diverse defense, space and services programs continues to provide important stability as we lay the foundation for our recovery,” Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun said in an announcement included with the results. “While the impact of COVID-19 presents continued challenges for commercial aerospace into 2021, we remain confident in our future, squarely-focused on safety, quality and transparency as we rebuild trust and transform our business.”

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