Boeing Co. share price up, secures $8.8bn order from BOC Aviation

Boeing Co., the second-largest aerospace and defense contractor in the world, announced it has secured an order for 82 jets worth $8.8bn by list prices from Bank of China Aviation, the Singapore-based aircraft leasing subsidiary of BoC.

The order includes 50 single-aisle 737 Max aircraft, and 30 737-800, as well as two 777 wide-body aircraft.

“BOC Aviation has established a proven track record in the airplane leasing industry. They have played an important role in the success of the Next-Generation 737 and the 777-300ER,” said Dinesh Keskar, senior vice president Asia Pacific and India Sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Were excited about our continued relationship with BOC Aviation and look forward to working with them on the new 737 MAX.”

The reported $8.8bn will be narrowed, however, as buyers usually get some 30%% discounts on bulk orders, and final prices are not disclosed. Nonetheless, the order is the largest ever made by the Singapore-based lessor.

“We expect that probably half of our deliveries will go to Asia over next seven years, with the rest to US and Europe,” said Robert Martin, CEO of BOC Aviation. “This is a continuation of our commitment to be responsive to airline customers which are expanding or replacing older fleets.”

BOC Aviations order comes after 118 Airbus aircraft were ordered over the past 1.1/2 years, 43 of those in the last month. In total, the company has 251 planes, flying for 27 airlines, and plans to expand its fleet to 400 aircraft by 2021.

Despite some western airlines struggling recently, as over-optimistic growth projections led to serious overcapacity problems, analysts agree that the Asian market will continue growing, and BOC Aviation positions itself for growth.

Chicago-based Boeing was overshadowed by European rival Airbus in terms of jet deals at the Farnborough air show in July, with $75.3bn in deals for Airbus and $40.2 for Boeing. BOCs order helps even the books, and eased Boeing shares as Wall Street opened Mondays session.

Boeing Co traded at $128.10 per share at 14:02 GMT, up 0.5% for the day and valuing the company at $91.88bn. Shares have added 21.49% from a year ago, and analysts surveyed by the Financial Times project a 25.10% increase for the next 12 months at $159.50. The analysts had a high estimate of $175.00 and a low estimate of $127.00.