(Details; photo available)
PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) – Airbus AIR.PA on Wednesday lowered its 2022 aircraft delivery target and pushed back its production ramp-up schedule, while maintaining key financial targets, as the problems in supply chains weighed in the second quarter.
The European aircraft manufacturer lowered its delivery target for 2022 to 700 aircraft from 720 previously and indicated that it would only reach its intermediate production target of 65 single-aisle aircraft in early 2024, instead of summer 2023. per month, while maintaining a monthly production target of 75 single-aisle aircraft in 2025.
This decision comes as the group made the same number of deliveries in the first half of the year as last year over the same period, against a backdrop of a shortage of parts to manufacture its engines and recruitment problems in the aeronautics sector after the layoffs made. during the coronavirus pandemic.
Despite this, Airbus maintained its profit and cash flow guidance for 2022. It reported adjusted operating profit of 1.382 billion euros in the second quarter, down 31% year on year, and a quarterly turnover of 12.810 billion euros, down 10% on an annual basis.
Analysts on average had expected adjusted operating profit of 1.328 billion euros and revenue of 13.7 billion euros in the April-June period, according to a consensus compiled by Airbus.
Along with postponing the ramp-up of its single-aisle production, the European aircraft maker said it was discussing with suppliers a possible increase in production of wide-bodied aircraft, as international demand for air travel rebounded .
(Tim Hepher report; French version Jean Terzian, edited by Jean-Stéphane Brosse)