The company provided further optimism by also revealing that its backlog of plane orders also hit an all-time high of $390 billion as it began delivering the first of its new flagship Dreamliner 787 jets.
"In a year of considerable achievement, Boeing was the commercial aviation market leader for both orders and deliveries, with more than 600 airplanes delivered, including the first Charleston-built 787 Dreamliners," said chief executive Jim McNerney.
For 2012 as a whole, revenues rose 19 percent to $81.7 billion, while net income was down slightly at $3.9 billion. Boeing's after-tax profits were dragged down by the reversion of its effective tax rate from a favourable 27 percent of earnings in 2011 to a more normal 34 percent last year.