Boeing Sees Hurdles Next Year After 2012 Forecast Boosts

Boeing Co., which has boosted its 2012 profit forecast three times as commercial and military aircraft sales rose, said it expects challenges next year that include a tougher defense market and higher pension expense.

The projected $3.5 billion in pension expense next year will be about $1 billion more than this year’s, the planemaker said today. The defense unit, source of more than 40 percent of total sales last year, is bracing for cuts in Pentagon spending, according to Boeing, which won’t forecast 2013 performance until January.