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The Boeing Co. which has its corporate headquarters in Chicago. (Boeing Photo)

The Boeing Co. reported quarterly revenue that went beyond what analysts were expecting, and the company’s CEO said he expected new airplane orders to come in at a “moderated but healthy pace” over the next year.

Fourth-quarter revenue was $23.3 billion, which translated to core earnings per share of $2.47. Even though total quarterly earnings were down about 1.2 percent year over year, the per-share figure is higher than analysts’ average predictions of $2.34 per share.

Revenue for the full year was $94.6 billion.

The bright spot came in commercial airline revenue, which beat expectations due to a delivery volume and mix that was higher than anticipated, Boeing said in today’s report.

Highlights for the quarter included the delivery of the 500th 787 Dreamliner, the start of final assembly for the first 787-10 aircraft, and a rush in orders for the 737 MAX. The commercial airplane division booked 288 net orders during the quarter, adding to a backlog of more than 5,700 airplanes valued at $416 billion.

The weakest link was the company’s defense business, which took $312 million in pre-tax charges on the Air Force KC-46 tanker program. Boeing has had to make modifications to the tanker design in the course of development – but Dennis Muilenburg, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said the KC-46 will be “a great long-term franchise program.”

“We now put 2016 in the books as a year of solid core operating performance, record cash flow and healthy return to our shareholders,” Muilenburg said during a teleconference.

Looking ahead, Boeing said it expects to hit total revenue in the range of $90.5 billion to $92.5 billion in 2017, with core earnings per share in the range of $9.10 to $9.30. Those figures are lower than analysts’ previous expectations.

Boeing projected operating cash flow at $10.75 billion in 2017, which would exceed 2016’s record mark of $10.5 billion.

Commercial airplane deliveries are projected to hit 760 to 765 during 2017. That’s higher than 2016’s full-year figure of 748, and roughly the same as 2015’s figure of 762 deliveries.

The quarterly report received a positive reception on Wall Street: Boeing’s share price rose more than 4 percent today, trading at $167.36 per share at market close.

Correction for 3:10 p.m. PT Jan. 27: An earlier version of this report included a $243 million pre-tax charge from Boeing’s commercial airplane division for the Air Force KC-46 tanker program, but not a $69 million charge from the defense and space division. This corrected version includes both charges, which total $312 million.

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