© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Airbus logo is seen on a building in Toulouse, France, March 11, 2021. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo
By Tim Hepher
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus has slowed production of its best-selling A320neo family jet and aims to deliver the jets by 2023 by early estimates last year when the jet maker The world’s largest airliner is under industrial pressure on supply.
The France-based group also targets an adjusted operating profit of 6.0 billion euros ($6.4 billion) in 2023 after posting a higher-than-expected profit of 5.627 billion. for last year, up 16% from 2021 and supported by positive pension effects.
New targets for the single-aisle jet confirm a shallower trajectory revealed by industry sources last month, with a target of 65 new A320 family jets per month reduced to the end of 2024 and the rate of 75 drops to 2026 from “mid-decade”.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said: “We are adjusting production to match supply.
Industry sources say Airbus is currently producing 45 dedicated jets per month.
Revenue rose 13% to €58,763 billion, thanks to higher year-over-year deliveries and a strong dollar.
Airbus delivered 661 jets last year, up 8%, but far below its initial target of 720, which was later cut to 700 and eventually canceled a few weeks before the end of the year. .
In a statement on the results, Faury blamed the “adverse operating environment for preventing our supply chain from recovering at the rate we expect”.
In January, Reuters reported that Airbus was adjusting the pace of production growth, and cited a senior industry source as saying the delivery target might not significantly exceed 720 jets.
In an internal call last week, Faury expressed disappointment over weaker-than-expected January deliveries and warned Airbus executives not to deliver fewer jets this year. against the target by 2022.
However, Airbus has confirmed that it will increase production of the wide-body A330neo to four a month by 2024 from about three currently.
It has announced plans to increase A350 production to nine a month by the end of 2025 from around six now after selling 40 of these jets to Air India as part of a record deal.
The decision to push back to pre-COVID levels reflects growing demand for wide-body jets. Industry sources previously said A350 production is expected to remain steady at 6 units/month throughout 2024 and 2025, up from 5.6 units/month in 2023.
The Wall Street Journal reported higher yields on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Airbus received a new fee for its A400M military transport aircraft, bringing its total 2022 revenue to €477 million. The loss of two imaging satellites in the Italian Vega C rocket failure in December also affected defense and space profits.
Airbus’ net cash flow increased to 9.4 billion euros, reaching a previously defined threshold for potential share repurchases.
Faury told investors in September that he would discuss the acquisition with the board “as soon as we hit the €10 billion mark.”
($1 = 0.9344 euros)
