PARIS: Airbus Group SE said profit rose 1.6 percent last year, as it ramped up deliveries of the latest A350 model and broke even on the A380 superjumbo. Figures were held back by higher development spending.
Earnings before interest and tax rose to 4.13 billion euros (US$4.45 billion) from 4.07 billion euros a year earlier, excluding one-time items, as sales gained 6 percent to 64.5 billion euros, Airbus said yesterday.
Airbus, which gets two-thirds of its revenue from its airliner unit, is benefiting from thousands of orders for new fuel-efficient aircraft placed before the recent drop in oil prices. The first A350 was handed over in late 2014, with 14 planes delivered last year and 50 to be produced this year, as the company embarks on one of the most testing output increases in its history.
Chief executive officer Tom Enders called the results “solid” and said that Toulouse, France-based Airbus is “focused on program execution and managing the challenges we face with the acceleration of the A350.”
Both cash flow and Ebit, excluding items, should be “stable” this year, he said.
“That may not be terribly exciting, but the last thing we need is excitement at this critical juncture,” said Sandy Morris, an aerospace analyst at Jefferies International in London.
Airbus shares yesterday traded 1.3 percent higher at 56.12 euros as of 9:05am in Paris. The stock has declined 9.5 percent this year after surging 50 percent last year.
Fourth-quarter Ebit before one-offs fell 10 percent to 1.33 billion euros, led by a 26 percent drop at the jetliner unit as the business spent more on research and development. The contribution from Dassault Aviation SA, maker of Rafale warplanes and Falcon business jets, declined.
