Boeing has agreed to loan aerostructures manufacturer Spirit AeroSystems up to $350 million, a move coming just days after Spirit warned that a cash crunch threatened the viability of its business.
Wichita-based Spirit disclosed the “advance payment agreement” on 12 November, saying the funds will help address financial difficulties created by Boeing’s reduced production rates, which have left Spirit sitting on a large inventory of undelivered components and with significantly less cash coming in the door.
“Boeing intends these payments to address Spirit’s high levels of inventory and lower operational cash flows, decrease in expected deliveries to Boeing and higher factory costs to maintain rate readiness, and lingering effects brought on by the recent strike by Boeing employees,” Spirit says in a regulatory filing.
The company, which supplies 737 fuselages and components for other Boeing and Airbus jets, says the loans come with a 6% fee. Under the deal, reached by the companies on 8 November, Spirit agreed to repay the debt in 25% increments, with payments due in April, June, September and December 2026.
In a 5 November regulatory filing, Spirit warned investors its business viability was in doubt due to rapid cash burn caused by Boeing’s sharply reduced production rates. Other factors also played a role in Spirit’s financial woes, including steep losses on its production of components for other Boeing and Airbus jets. The warning came as Spirit continues working to close a planned acquisition by Boeing in mid-2025.
Spirit’s 5 November filing noted the company lost $1.5 billion in the first nine months of 2024 and that since 2021 its operation burned through $1.9 billion in cash.
The company held $218 million in cash and cash equivalents on 26 September but said it expects to run at a $450-500 million cash deficit through end-2025.
Spirit previously, in April and June, reached deals under which it secured $465 million in advances from Boeing.
