How long Spirit AeroSystems will accept more forward losses?

How much longer Spirit AeroSystems management is willing to accept that three key commercial aircraft programs are at forward losses before it acts and negotiates better deals with Airbus and Boeing? That question was put forward in different ways by different analysts during Wednesday’s Q2 earning call. And the message seems to have been picked up: “There is a sense of urgency by the management here, we hear you, we understand,” CEO Tom Gentile said. How long Spirit AeroSystems will accept more forward losses?

In the past week, analysts raised concerns about the financial position of Spirit AeroSystems, a Tier 1 supplier to Boeing and Airbus. The 737/MAX program is the most important one in its portfolio and used to represent fifty percent of all revenues. While there have been recent production quality issues that have resulted in unwelcome costs and losses, overall, Spirit has made good money on the Boeing

narrowbodies in the past years.

The same can’t be said of the three other programs. The Boeing 787 and Airbus A350 (main picture) widebodies have been loss-making for over a decade, with the Airbus A220 narrowbody also still in the red since Spirit acquired the wing and fuselage production in Belfast.