Boeing Co.’s share price up, beats Airbus Group NV in the rivalry for becoming the largest jet maker in 2014

Boeing Co. was reported to have managed to deliver more planes than its major rival Airbus Group NV last year, which helped it keep the title of the worlds largest plane manufacturer for a third consecutive year. The increased number of deliveries was supported by the accelerated production of its newest jet 787 Dreamliner.

Boeing delivered 723 planes in 2014. In comparison, France-based Airbus revealed that it delivered a total of 629 units over the year. The shipments of Airbus new A350 model started in December 2014.

However, Airbus managed to strike more contracts over the year, which respectively put it ahead when it comes to orders. It emerged with 1 456 orders in comparison with 1 432 for Boeing.

Both companies have been dealing with difficulties, as they try to accelerate the production of their most popular jets in an attempt to meet increased customers demand coming from both network and low-cost carriers. The two plane manufacturers are also trying to consolidate and boost the production of a new generation of wide-body models.

Boeing is preserving the lead, which attributes to larger build rates on its Dreamliner model. The Dreamliner jets stand at more than 10 units on a monthly basis. This level of production is not expected to be met by Airbus A350 until 2018. Airbus is currently producing 2 A350 units each month. In addition, Airbus intends to increase the production of its best-selling A320, a narrow-body aircraft, during the next one year and a half. Boeing, on the other hand, said that it is to accelerate the manufacturing of its single aisle jet 737 over the two years that are yet to come.

Airbus is now to put its efforts in order to reassure its investors that its commercial aircraft unit is capable of dealing with the challenges it is facing. The head of the division Fabrice Brégier said in a statement, cited by the Financial Times: “Airbus also made strong progress towards a faster, simpler and more agile company, while our strategy of incremental innovation is helping to consolidate our market-leading position in all categories.”

Boeing Co. was down 0.51% to close at $130.87 per share yesterday, marking a one-year loss of 7.77%. The company is valued at $93.30 billion. The companys shares traded at €112.00 in Frankfurt as of 14:28 GMT. According to CNN Money, the 21 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Boeing Co. have a median target of $150.00, with a high estimate of $175.00 and a low estimate of $101.00. The median estimate represents a +14.62% increase from the last price of $130.87.