Boost for Airbus as recovery of travel market gathers pace

Airplane manufacturer Airbus had revenues of £37bn over last nine months – according to a company update.

The company which employs more than 4,500 staff at its wing making plant in Broughton, near Chester, and 3,000 people at factories in the South West made profits of just over £3bn in the period and delivered 488 commercial aircraft.

Guillaume Faury, Airbus’s chief executive, said: “We continue to make progress on our operational plan in a global environment that has become increasingly complex.

“The nine-month earnings reflect higher commercial aircraft deliveries, the good performance in helicopters as well as charges linked to the reassessment of certain satellite development programmes.

“Demand for our commercial aircraft is very strong with a continuing recovery in the widebody market. We expect the supply chain to remain challenging as we progress on the production ramp-up. In that context, we maintain our guidance for the full year.”

Gross commercial aircraft orders totalled 1,280 (9m 2022: 856 aircraft) with net orders of 1,241 aircraft after cancellations (9m 2022: 647 aircraft).

The order backlog amounted to 7,992 commercial aircraft at the end of September 2023. Airbus Helicopters registered 191 net orders (9m 2022: 246 units) which were well spread across programmes.

Airbus Defence and Space’s order intake by value was £7.4bn including the renewal of the in-service support contract for Germany’s A400M fleet.

Revenues generated by Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities increased 18 percent, mainly reflecting the higher number of deliveries. Airbus Helicopters’ deliveries increased slightly to 197 units (9m 2022: 193 units) with revenues rising thre percent, reflecting the overall performance across programmes and services.

Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space decreased six per cent, mainly driven by a backloaded A400M delivery profile and updated Estimates at Completion of certain satellite development programmes. A total of 4 A400M military airlifters were delivered.

In order to cope with an evolving defence and security environment, the Company has launched a transformation of its Defence and Space division. This aims to adapt ways of working, focusing on rigorous programme execution and a rebalancing of risks and opportunities to reinforce end-to-end accountability and ownership in the business lines and improve competitiveness.