Boeing's third-quarter profit plunged more than 50 percent as the company struggles to regain its footing after two crashes of its best-selling 737 MAX jet killed 346 people.

The aircraft maker said on Wednesday that its profit fell 55.51 percent to US$1.17 billion from US$2.63 billion for the same period a year ago.

Earnings per share dropped 49.63 percent to US$2.05 from US$4.07, but beat Wall Street's consensus estimate of US$1.92. Sales dropped 21 percent to US$20 billion but were ahead of the US$19.67 billion expected by analysts.

"No incremental negative news on MAX will be a relief for most," Credit Suisse said in a research note to investors after Boeing announced its earnings.

MAX jets were grounded in March following crashes on Oct 29, 2018, in Indonesia and March 30 in Ethiopia. Investigators have focused on the MAX's anti-stall device that may have erroneously pointed the nose of the planes down to gain speed to prevent a mid-air stall and into a fatal plunge. China was the first the ground the plane and the US was the last.

Boeing hopes the plane will return to service this quarter, but airlines don't expect it to fly until early 2020.

In April, Boeing reduced MAX production to 42 planes a month from 52, a cut of nearly 20 percent, but expects to boost production to 57 a month by the end of next year, an increase of nearly 36 percent from the cutback.

Some analysts believe Boeing might temporarily halt production of the MAX, a move that would disrupt the supply chain and ripple through the economy. Boeing said it set aside US$5.6 billion to compensate airlines for lost revenue due to the MAX's grounding.

The company delivered 63 new jets in the third quarter, compared with 190 for the same period a year ago. Boeing said it will delay introduction of its larger 777X jet until 2021, due to problems with the engines built by General Electric.

Following the worldwide grounding of the MAX, Boeing has relied on sales of larger jets and military hardware. The continuing trade dispute with China has eroded passenger traffic and crimped orders for the MAX.

Boeing, however, booked orders in the third quarter valued at US$5 billion for other commercial jets, including six 777 freightliners for China Airlines.

"The lack of orders from China in the past couple of years has put pressure on the production rate," Muilenburg told investors.

Boeing's stock closed Wednesday at US$340.50 a share, up US$3.50, or 1.04 percent. The 52-week range is US$292.47 to US$446.01 a share.