Airbus Group NV plans to boost production of its workhorse A320 single-aisle aircraft to 50 per month to meet surging demand for more fuel-efficient airliners.
The increase by the first quarter of 2017 from today’s 42 is expected to help airlines get earlier delivery slots for the A320neo models with new engines that are already sold into the next decade. Airbus disclosed the plans as it announced a 15 percent gain in last year’s profit on higher plane deliveries.
The A320 family, introduced in the late 1980s and assembled at two sites in Europe and one in China, has helped Airbus create a global duopoly with Boeing Co in the civil aircraft market, which relies predominantly on smaller airliners like the A320 and 737. Airbus’s new production plans are still below targets by Boeing for 52 single-aisle 737s per month by 2018.
Photo: Bloomberg
“Due to strong demand for single-aisle aircraft, we have decided to increase production of our A320 family to 50 aircraft a month from 2017 onwards,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said in a statement.
The airplane manufacturer also announced a drop in production for its wide-body twin-engine A330 airplane to six per month from early next year versus 10 today.
Production is planned to climb again as the manufacturer starts building a more fuel-efficient variant with new engines, dubbed the A330neo.
Airbus confirmed its plan to break even on its A380 superjumbo this year.
Earnings at the parent company for last year before interest, tax and one-time items rose to 4.07 billion euros (US$4.56 billion) from 3.54 billion euros, beating estimates by analysts for 3.84 billion euros. The company took a charge of 551 million euros for penalties related to delays of its A400M military transport. Sales rose 5 percent to 60.7 billion euros.
Airbus proposed a record dividend of 1.20 euros per share, up 60 percent from 2013.
The European aerospace company, which draws two-thirds of sales from its airliner unit, is particularly reliant on its best-selling single-aisle series. Last year, out of 629 deliveries, 490 were short-haul models, providing the bulk of revenue.
Airbus assembles its A320 and related variants mainly in Hamburg and Toulouse in southern France, with a plant in Tianjin, China, producing four planes monthly. It plans to add four A320neos monthly by 2017 at a new plant in Mobile, Alabama.
The company predicted “slightly higher” deliveries for this year than last year, and reiterated plans to break even with its A380, which has struggled to attract fresh orders.
Sales are expected to rise this year, and Airbus said it expects a “slight” increase in operating earnings before certain items, with a break-even on cash flow before acquisitions.
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