Boeing profit rises 57%

(Reuters) - Boeing Co. on Wednesday reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast for earnings per share and cash flow, boosted by strong demand for air travel.

Shares of the world's biggest planemaker rose more than 2 percent in premarket trading.

Boeing, which sold a record 763 aircraft last year and has already announced a rise in commercial deliveries in the first three months of the year, raised its full-year operating cash flow forecast to $15.0 billion-$15.5 billion from about $15 billion, previously.

The company also increased its 2018 core earnings per share forecast to $14.30-14.50 from its previous projection of $13.80-$14.00.

Boeing's commercial aircraft deliveries rose 9 percent to 184 in the first quarter ended March 31.

Core earnings, which exclude some pension costs, were $3.64 per share in the quarter, compared with $2.17 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue rose 6.5 percent to $23.38 billion.

Core operating margin rose to 10.7 percent from 8.5 percent a year earlier.

Analysts had expected first-quarter earnings of $2.58 per share and revenue of $22.26 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)