The Boeing Co.’s [BA] third-quarter earnings rose to $609 million, or 70 cents per share, on revenues of $11.88 billion.

The result compares with a profit of $477 million, or 52 cents per share, on revenue of $13.28 billion for the third quarter of last year.

Profits jumped 29 percent, or 16 cents a share compared, with the same quarter last year, after accounting for a non-recurring item in the latest quarter that cut earnings by two cents per share and non-recurring items from a year-ago that decreased earnings by four cents per share.

Launch vehicle development costs however partly caused Boeing’s Space and Communications unit to incur an operating loss of $14 million for the third quarter of 2000 on revenues of $1.6 billion, compared with operating earnings of $137 million on revenues of $1.7 billion for the same period in 1999.