Airbus SE cut its full-year delivery target and said cash flow would be lower than expected as it struggles to capitalize on the grounding of Boeing Co’s 737 MAX jets.
The European plane maker now expects to hand over about 860 jets this year, down from a previous range of 880 to 890 airplanes, as production challenges slow output of A320neo-series jets.
Free cash flow is likely to be about 3 billion euros (US$3.3 billion) rather than 4 billion euros, it said in a statement yesterday.
Airbus has struggled to keep up with demand for the so-called cabin flex version of the narrow-body’s A321 variant. The configuration allows for more seats or longer range, by adding a new rear section and changing the door layout.
The layout is to become standard next year and Airbus said it is continuing to work on how to increase A321 production capacity.
“We are focused on the A320neo ramp-up and improving the industrial flow while managing the higher level of complexity,” Airbus chief executive officer Guillaume Faury said in the release.
Adjusted profit before interest and tax rose 2 percent to 1.6 billion euros, more than the 1.36 billion euros estimated by analysts, although that was before one-time costs from the A380 superjumbo program, which is being wound down, and Germany’s suspension of defense exports to Saudi Arabia.
Airbus won orders for 303 commercial jets through last month, excluding cancelations, versus 170 at Boeing.
Sales efforts have generally taken second place to the production push, with many airlines put off by long delivery times amid record backlogs, or waiting to see when the MAX would fly again.
The order picture improved on Tuesday, when Indian budget airline IndiGo announced a 300-plane deal for the A320neo worth US$33 billion at list prices and ranking among Airbus’ biggest-ever contracts.
Boeing’s tab for the MAX grounding hit US$9.2 billion in the third quarter, with the company burning through more cash in the period than for almost 25 years.
Boeing chief executive officer Dennis Muilenburg was on Tuesday grilled by the US Congress and found himself defending his company’s right to approve its own designs, and quizzed on why MAX aircraft were allowed to remain in service after the first of two fatal crashes that killed 346 people.
Airbus shares have surged 50 percent this year, giving the Toulouse, France-based plane maker a market value of 98 billion euros as of Tuesday’s close. Boeing shares have gained 8.2 percent.
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