A Franco-German struggle for power at the top of Airbus overshadowed strong profits, record orders and surging sales at the aeroplane maker's parent, EADS on Monday.
Two days before Noel Forgeard nominally quits his post as chief executive of Airbus to become co-chief, with Tom Enders of EADS, sources said his successor was unlikely to be chosen for several weeks because of the row.
EADS, which was to hold its annual meeting yesterday, said it had more than tripled its pre-tax earnings in the first quarter to 657 million euros (US$842 million) and raised its order book to a record 190.4 billion euros on the back of 87 airplane deliveries and 123 gross orders for Airbus.
But the group has been unsettled by the strife over Forgeard's successor at Airbus, with the French and the German majority shareholders ruling out proposed solutions.
The Germans accuse the French of seeking domination and using the May 29 referendum on the EU's constitution as an excuse for power tactics.
Senior German executives last week blocked a French suggestion that Forgeard should retain control of Airbus and take over at Eurocopter, the world's biggest helicopter maker, leaving Enders, EADS' defense head, to run the military and space divisions.
Hans Peter Ring, EADS' chief financial officer, said: "We have strong candidates and will take the time required to find the right choice."
BAE Systems owns 20 percent of Airbus, with EADS holding 80 percent.
EADS said it expected Airbus, which sold 320 planes last year, to deliver between 350 and 360 jets this year. First-quarter sales were up 20 planes, to 87.
Despite a strong recovery in Boeing orders, driven by its 787 Dreamliner and aggressive pricing, EADS still expects to remain the world's No 1.
Group sales rose 16 percent to 7 billion euros, with the defense division growing by the same amount and raising orders of 50 billion euros. EADS said annual revenues should come in at 33 billion euros with pre-tax income of 2.6 billion euros.
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