Record deliveries, record order book and a bright 2018 say Airbus

Airbus has reported better-than-expected profits for 2017 of £3.8bn, against £3.45bn in 2016 despite being hit for £1.1 bn due to the delayed A400M military transporter project.

The aircraft manufacturer delivered a record number of aircraft in 2017 and closed the year with a record order backlog.

Company chiefs say if delivery targets are met in 2018 Airbus profits will increase by around 20%.

Airbus revealed full year results this morning at the company’s annual conference.

Shares in the group rose by 9.2% a two-week high as Airbus confirmed it wants to raise output of the A320 the company’s best selling model, to 70 up by around 17%, that will be dependent on engine makers getting to grips with ongoing problems.

Supplier Pratt & Whitney introduced new engine fixes in the fourth quarter which have been certified say Airbus but a new issue has arisen recently, “the impact of which is under assessment with respect to 2018 deliveries, the A320neo ramp-up remains challenging and requires that the engine suppliers deliver in line with commitments.” A company statement say.

#AirbusResults: INFOGRAPHICS 📊 pic.twitter.com/k0MFBwYdfl

— Airbus PRESS (@AirbusPRESS) February 15, 2018

Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders said:

“We overachieved on all our 2017 KPIs thanks to a very good operational performance, especially in the last quarter.

Despite persistent engine issues on the A320neo, we continued the production ramp-up and finally delivered a record number of aircraft.

On A400M, we made progress on the industrial and capabilities front and agreed a re-baselining with government customers which will significantly reduce the remaining programme risks. This is reflected in a substantial one-off charge.

Overall, the strength of our 2017 achievements is reflected in our dividend proposal which is up 11 percent against last year. This also endorses our earnings and cash growth story for the future.”

Full Details: 2017 Results