Airbus SE bounced back strongly into profit in the first half of the year, as aircraft deliveries rose, leading the company to revise its performance forecasts upward, it said yesterday.
Airbus posted a net profit of 2.2 billion euros (US$2.6 billion) for the first six months, compared with a loss of 1.9 billion last year, as the airline industry was walloped by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Airbus said it delivered 297 aircraft from January to last month against 196 last year.
Photo: AP
As clients pay most of the cost of the aircraft upon delivery, revenue jumped 30 percent to 24.6 billion euros.
The European plane manufacturer expects to deliver 600 planes this year, instead of the previously estimated 566, the number delivered last year.
It forecasts an adjusted operating profit of 4 billion euros for the year, double its previous target.
“These half-year results reflect the commercial aircraft deliveries, our focus on cost containment and competitiveness, and the good performance in helicopters, and defense and space,” chief executive officer Guillaume Faury said in a statement.
“Although the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the numerous actions taken by the teams have delivered a strong H1 performance. This enables us to raise our 2021 guidance, although we continue to face an unpredictable environment,” he said.
In a sign that the airline sector is still in crisis, the manufacturer recorded only net orders of 38 aircraft in the first half of the year, receiving 127 cancelations.
Its order book stood at 6,925 aircraft as of June 30, including 5,666 of the A320 family, its top-selling, single-aisle plane.
Global air traffic remains severely limited by traffic restrictions and only freight is improving from its pre-pandemic level.
In this area, Airbus is in a weak position compared with its competitor Boeing Co.
The board of directors therefore approved the launch of a cargo version of the wide-body A350, intended to compete with the B767 and B777 cargo plane of the US aircraft manufacturer.
The cargo version of the A350 is expected to enter service in 2025, Faury said.
The plane would be based mostly on the A350-1000, its largest version, he said, and would have a payload of more than 90 tonnes.
The pandemic has accelerated a shift to online shopping, prompting renewed demand for dedicated cargo planes.
The company gets “closer every day” to lining up launch customers, Faury said.
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