Boeing’s troubled 787 Dreamliner looks unlikely to make a profit for at least two years after its first delivery, as the aircraft-maker warned on Wednesday that the programme could make a loss in its initial stages.

The manufacturer is poised to announce the details of the fifth delay to the 787 programme after discovering weaknesses in the structure where the wings join the body. Although it has repeatedly stressed the fault can be fixed using a relatively minor technical solution, Boeing is gearing up for significant financial implications because of the cost of solving the problem and penalties to customers.