NEW YORK: Boeing Co’s quarterly profit surged past Wall Street estimates and booming demand for commercial jets pushed the company to raise its forecasts for cash flow and earnings for the year.

The world’s biggest planemaker played down concerns around rising costs of metals, after manufacturer Caterpillar unnerved stock markets on Tuesday by warning that rising materials costs could squeeze profit margins.

“We’re not seeing anything there that’s a material effect right now,” Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said.

Boeing’s core earnings, which exclude certain pension costs, jumped to $3.64 per share from $2.17 per share a year earlier, dwarfing a consensus forecast of $2.58 per share according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares jumped as much as 4.5 per cent to $344.01 in response.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2018