On January 31, Boeing Co said its fourth-quarter profit more than doubled after deliveries surpassed company forecasts and bigger rival Airbus SAS delayed production.

The company raised its 2007 earnings forecast by US$10 cents a share. Net income climbed to US$989 million, or US$1.29 a share, from US$460 million, or 58 cents, a year earlier, exceeding analysts' estimates. Sales gained 26 percent to US$17.5 billion, Chicago-based Boeing said.

Boeing beat Airbus in the dollar value of commercial orders, deliveries and backlogs last year for the first time since 2001.

Chief Executive Officer James McNerney accelerated production to meet record demand after wiring problems caused delays and higher costs for Airbus's new A380 superjumbo jet, Bloomberg News said.

Boeing "has recaptured competitive momentum in the commercial market accompanied by solid contributions from its defense operations," said Mary Anne Sudol, an aerospace analyst at Caris & Co in New York.

Sixteen analysts estimated fourth-quarter profit of 98 cents a share, according to the Bloomberg survey. Sales were projected to gain 16 percent to US$16 billion.