- Boeing is burning through massive amounts of cash as the spreading coronavirus complicates a recovery from its 737 Max scandal.
- The company said Tuesday it had maxed out a $13.8 billion credit line it obtained from banks in February.
- Shares of Boeing closed at a near four-year low on Tuesday.
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Boeing maxed out a $13.8 billion credit line it arranged in February, the company said Tuesday, giving an insight into the embattled planemaker's cash burn as it seeks to escape the 737 Max crisis that has been complicated by the spread of coronavirus.
The company first disclosed the loans - from Citibank, JPMorgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo - on February 6. By March 13, Boeing said in a regulatory filing Tuesdayy, those lines had been completely used up.
The company still has access to another credit line totaling $3.2 billion which it first disclosed in October 2019, it said.
Shares of Boeing sank about 4% in late trading Tuesday following the filing. The company's stock closed at a nearly four-year low of $124.14.
A massive market selloff triggered by the global spread of coronavirus could not have come at a worse time for Boeing, which in March saw the one-year anniversary of the grounding of its 737 Max plane. While the company seeks regulatory to get the airplane flying again, new orders have plummeted, taking an immense chunk out of its quarterly balance sheet. In January, Boeing reported its first full year loss since 1997.
Now Boeing executives - alongside their airline counterparts - are asking federal lawmakers to help stabilize the industry with a cash infusion. Reuters reported Tuesday that the company was seeking "tens of billions" of government loans as it faces a liquidity crunch.
"We have to protect Boeing," President Donald Trump said in a White House news briefing Tuesday. "They got hit 15 different ways."
Get the latest Boeing stock price here.