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The Boeing 737 Max aircraft prepares to land after a test flight in Seattle, Washington, on September 30, 2020.

Mike Siegel | The Seattle Times | Bloomberg via Getty Images

Boeing reported a record net loss of over $ 11.9 billion in 2020 – results that worsened after deliveries of its 777X aircraft were postponed until late 2023 and a $ 6.5 billion charge in the fourth quarter this large-scale program was collected Coronavirus pandemic hits demand for aircraft.

Boeing’s shares fell more than 3% in premarket trading.

The company lost a whopping $ 15.25 per share on adjusted terms in the fourth quarter, which surprised Wall Street. Analysts had forecast a loss of 1.80 USD. The company also recorded a $ 468 million write-down of “abnormal production costs” for the 737 Max program.

Boeing’s fourth quarter revenue declined 15% year over year to $ 15.3 billion, above analysts’ forecast for revenue of $ 15.07 billion. The company’s net loss rose to $ 8.4 billion in the three months from $ 1.01 billion in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Here are the numbers:

• EPS: a loss of $ 15.25 per share

• Revenue: $ 15.07 billion versus $ 15.07 expected by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv

2021 will be another challenging year for the aviation industry as new travel restrictions and coronavirus infections curb already depressed demand for flights.

“2020 was a year of profound societal and global disruptions that severely constrained our industry. The profound impact of the pandemic on commercial air travel associated with the 737 MAX primer challenged our results,” said CEO Dave Calhoun in the earnings announcement.

Revenue for the commercial aircraft division decreased 37% year over year to $ 4.73 billion in the fourth quarter.

Boeing aircraft deliveries fell to their lowest level in decades, and cancellations hit records last year when the 737 Max was suspended for an extended period after two fatal accidents and a slump in travel requirement due to the pandemic.

Revenue in its increasingly important defense, space and security businesses offset some of the weakness, rising 14% to $ 6.78 billion in the fourth quarter.

The pandemic is driving demand for wide-body aircraft, which are typically used for longer international flights. Boeing had previously stopped production of its 787 Dreamliners, jetliners used for international long-haul aircraft. This type of travel has been hardest hit by the pandemic.

The 777X program was already fraught with technical delays. Boeing now expects the first delivery to be made in late 2023, more than two years later than last April, due to weaker demand and increased certification requirements as a result of the 737 Max crisis.

Boeing executives will discuss their findings with analysts on a 10:30 AM ET call.

The Chicago-based aircraft manufacturer is trying to turn a page after two crashes of its 737 Max that killed all 346 on board. The US aviation authorities approved the best-selling aircraft for flight again in November. This enabled Boeing to deliver around 400 new jets that were manufactured in its Seattle plant but could not be handed over to customers. American Airlines, United Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Aeromexico and Brazil’s Gol are among the airlines that have received Max Jets so far.

Deliveries are vital to Boeing as airlines pay most of the aircraft price.

Calhoun forecast in April that travel demand will not return to 2019 levels for two to three years.

Pascal Soriot, managing director of AstraZeneca.

Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Pascal Soriot, CEO of AstraZeneca, has defended the late launch of the coronavirus vaccine in the EU, saying the drug company is working “around the clock” to fix production problems. However, he also noted that the EU ordered three months later than the UK, which meant it was behind in addressing supply issues.

The EU has reacted angrily at a delay in AstraZeneca’s delivery of coronavirus vaccines to the bloc, which the European Medicines Agency is expected to approve later this week.

The 27-strong bloc expected around 80 million doses of the sting by the end of March, but will reportedly only receive around 31 million doses. With member states struggling to gain access to vaccines and rollout bursts, the EU has announced it will limit exports of EU-made Covid-19 vaccines.

Speaking to Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Soriot said delays in the delivery of his coronavirus vaccine were caused by a variety of production issues.

“We think we solved these issues, but we are basically two months behind where we wanted to be,” he said

The Anglo-Swedish drugmaker had also seen “such teething troubles in the British supply chain,” noted Soriot, but when the British deal was signed three months before the European vaccine deal, the company had “three additional months to fix any glitches that we have experienced. “

However, AstraZeneca continued to plan to deliver most of the vaccines promised to the EU in February. “But if we deliver what we want to deliver in February, it’s not a small volume. We are planning to deliver millions of cans to Europe, it’s not small,” he told the newspaper.

A Brazilian doctor will voluntarily receive an injection in July 2020 as part of phase 3 studies with a vaccine developed by Oxford University and the UK pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.

Nelson Almeida | AFP | Getty Images

When asked what amount the EU could expect, Soriot said that once the vaccine is approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), “we will ship at least 3 million doses to Europe immediately, then we will have another shipment.” about a week later and then in the third or fourth week of February. The goal is to dispense 17 million cans by February. “

“It’s not as good as we’d like it to be, but it’s really not that bad,” he said. Globally, Soriot said production capacity would be 100 million cans as of February.

Anger in the EU

Talks between AstraZeneca and the EU took place on Monday. Afterward, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said the discussions “have led to dissatisfaction with the lack of clarity and inadequate explanations”.

The EU has asked AstraZeneca to provide a detailed plan for vaccine delivery and timing of distribution. Further discussions are scheduled for Wednesday.

Some countries, including Italy, have threatened legal action against AstraZeneca for the delay. Others have asked why the UK, which relies heavily on the AstraZeneca surge to introduce vaccinations, has pushed ahead with its vaccination campaign and has not yet experienced supply shortages. It has immunized more than 6.8 million people with at least a first two-dose dose of the vaccine.

Soriot said the UK manufacturing facility was more productive and insisted that there was no anti-EU context.

“Firstly, we have different plants and they have different yields and different productivity. One of the highest yielding plants is in the UK because it started earlier. It also had its own problems, but we solved them all. Good productivity, but it’s the UK plant because it started earlier. “

“We don’t do it on purpose. I am European, I have Europe in my heart. Our chairman is Swede, is European. Our CFO is European. Many leaders are European. That is why we want to treat Europe as the best.” we can.”

He noted that the drug company had a “best effort” contract with the EU as it wanted to be delivered at the same time as the UK, even though it was later to request the vaccine. “By the way, we have not made a commitment to the EU. It is not an obligation that we have for Europe. It is a great effort.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses for a photo with a vial of the vaccine candidate Covid-19 from the University of AstraZeneca / Oxford.

WPA pool | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Scaling and production problems

With a coronavirus vaccine developed, clinically tested, and approved in less than a year, Soriot said it was natural for the scaling-up process to interfere.

“We’re scaling up to hundreds of millions, billions of doses of vaccines at a very fast rate. We didn’t have a vaccine a year ago. If you do that, you have glitches, you have scale-up problems.” He added that there were currently problems with the production of the vaccine substance in two European plants.

“For Europe, the active ingredient is essentially manufactured in two plants, one in the Netherlands and one in Belgium. The drug is actually manufactured in Italy and Germany. So from a drug point of view, we have full capacity. We have no problem.” The current problems have to do with the manufacture of the drug’s substance, “he said.

Starbucks chief operating officer Rosalind Brewer will replace Stefano Pessina as CEO of the Walgreens Boots Alliance, people familiar with the matter told CNBC on Tuesday.

Starbucks announced Brewer’s departure earlier in the day and said she would take up a position as CEO of an undisclosed public company in late February.

Walgreens officials were not immediately available for comment.

If Brewer were named CEO of Walgreens, he would be the only black woman running a Fortune 500 company.

Her departure from Starbucks comes as investors, regulators and activists push for more diversity in American businesses. Nasdaq has proposed changes that would result in greater racial and gender diversity on the boards of public companies that are listed on its stock exchange.

The Wall Street Journal first reported on Brewer’s decision to join Walgreens.

Walgreens shares rose nearly 8% in advanced trading on the news. The stock is down 5% over the past 12 months, increasing its market value to $ 42.50 billion.

Pessina’s plans to resign

Pessina announced plans to step down as CEO in July. He is one of the largest single investors in the drugstore chain and plans to continue serving as Executive Chairman on the board.

Brewer joined Starbucks’ board of directors in 2017 and later that year became its chief operating officer after serving as CEO of Sam’s Club, owned by Walmart. She was the first black woman to be the COO of Starbucks and head a department at the big box retailer. Before joining Walmart, she worked for consumer goods giant Kimberly-Clark.

In her current position, Brewer is involved in a wide variety of roles from technology initiatives to creating new coffee beverages. It was widely expected that she would succeed current CEO Kevin Johnson. Upon her departure, her responsibilities will be shared between CMO Brady Brewer and Rossann Williams, who will serve as president of company-operated offices in the US and Canada.

Challenges at Walgreens

At Walgreens, Brewer would face numerous challenges as the company turned its business around and created new revenue streams. The drugstore chain struggled during the early months of the pandemic as foot traffic decreased, particularly in boat shops in the UK. The company reported earlier this month that sales were picking up, but reiterated its prospect for low single-digit earnings growth.

The drugstore chain has cut costs in some areas and invested in others. Hundreds of Walgreens and Boots stores closed and the workforce reduced over the past year.

Walgreens’ larger rival, CVS Health, acquired Aetna health insurance and expanded faster into healthcare. CVS opened Minute Clinics and Walgreens has caught up.

Brewer also sits on the board of directors at Amazon, a company that restricts drugstore sales both in front of and behind the pharmacy counter as more customers buy toothpaste and refill prescriptions online.

Amazon opened its own pharmacy store in November, offering Prime members perks like a savings program and free delivery within two days. It acquired the online pharmacy PillPack in 2018.

Brewer also chairs the Board of Trustees of Spelman College and was previously a director of Lockheed Martin and Molson Coors Beverage.

Starbucks recently announced the resignation of its CFO Pat Grismer. He will be replaced by Rachel Ruggeri, who will serve as Senior Vice President of Finance for the Americas Division from February 1.

Starbucks shares fell more than 1% in expanded trading on Tuesday after the chain released its fiscal first quarter results. It beat analysts’ estimates for its profits, but its US revenue recovery stalled as Covid-19 cases increased in the quarter.

A worker collects shopping carts at a Walmart store on May 19, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. Walmart reported a 74% increase in online sales in the US for the quarter ended April 30, and sales in the same store 10% increase over the same period that the effects of the coronavirus contributed to the increase in sales.

Scott Olson | Getty Images

Walmart said Wednesday it plans to expand the use of high-tech systems that allow online grocery orders to be picked and packaged quickly, as it anticipates customer demand for pickup and delivery will outlast the pandemic .

Dozens of Walmart stores are becoming local fulfillment centers, with some of those stores being converted into small, automated warehouses, the company said. To do this, Walmart either uses a store’s existing footprint or extends it.

In 2019, Walmart began testing a system called the Alphabot in its Salem, New Hampshire store, and results were immediate. The system enabled the retailer to pick orders within minutes and have them ready for a customer within an hour of placing the order.

As Walmart automates more stores, it is trying different configurations and partnering with multiple technology providers including Alert Innovation, Dematic and Fabric. Some stores will have a pick-up area where customers and deliverers can pull up, scan a code, and retrieve their order, said Tom Ward, senior vice president of customer products at Walmart US

Walmart declined to say how many stores would get the technology or how much it would spend on the upgrades. However, the investment is an integral part of the country’s largest grocer’s hope to fend off competitors like Amazon’s FreshDirect, Kroger and Ahold Delhaize, who are competing for customers on the same day in terms of availability, speed and price.

For customers, the addition of Walmart to these high-tech systems could ultimately mean that they can more easily secure a delivery or pick-up point on the same day and have this food ready more quickly.

Automated fulfillment

Rather than relying on the store staff to pick up every can of soup or other item a customer requests, the local fulfillment centers will combine machines and labor. When an order comes in, automated bots move up and down left and right to get items from chilled food into the electronics and take them to an employee at a picking station to help with assembly. At the same time, personal shoppers handpick fragile or unwieldy items like fresh seafood, meat and produce, or bulkier items like a big screen TV or a pack of paper towels.

Walmart will expand the use of a high-tech system that enables online grocery orders to be placed. In a small warehouse in some stores, automated bots pick up popular items, while personal buyers pick up tricky items like products from the sales floor.

Walmart

During the pandemic, Walmart and other retailers saw an increase in demand for online grocery delivery. Walmart’s pickup and delivery growth peaked at 300% and its new customers for the services quadrupled in the early days of the health crisis. In response, Walmart increased slot capacity by 40%.

A Walmart + advantage

But even if customers are comfortable returning to stores, they may be looking for online delivery. Walmart has made unlimited grocery deliveries a key benefit of Walmart +, its new membership program that could drive larger order volumes and increase customer expectations.

“As we move forward, we don’t see any change in future usage of these services,” said Ward. “We anticipate we will continue to serve more and more customers who rely on pickup and delivery to be an important part of their lives.”

Online grocery orders have put grocer profits under pressure even in the notoriously low-margin business. It forces them to pick, pack, and ship orders that customers typically retrieve and transport themselves.

Ward said local fulfillment centers are another way to leverage the 4,700+ stores located near customers’ homes as a competitive advantage. He declined to provide details of potential cost savings.

New avenues have already been explored in compact fulfillment centers in various parts of the country, including the Dallas area and hometown of Bentonville, Arkansas, he said. Each not only serves their own store, but also fulfills orders that have been picked up at other nearby stores.