(AOF) – Airbus (-0.68% to 157.44 euros) posts one of the biggest declines in the CAC 40, penalized by disappointing adjusted operating income and still negative cash flow in the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted Ebit consolidated revenue fell by 25% to 577 million euros. The consensus was 789 million. “It includes a negative effect linked to the increase in Airbus’ employee share ownership plan, due to record employee participation, which resulted in an increase in year-on-year expenses of just over 0.1 billion dinars. ‘euros’, indicates the aircraft manufacturer.
“Cost inflation, including supply chain challenges and labor costs, resulted in underperformance of 18% in the commercial aircraft business and 31% in EBIT. We are now at the bottom of the 2024 forecast range and we see a plausible downside scenario if forecasts are not met,” comments UBS following the release of Airbus’ first quarter results.
“We are now modeling 6.5 billion euros of (adjusted) EBITA for 2024 (the low end of the forecast range of 6.5-7 billion euros) compared to 6.8 billion euros previously, largely partly due to a more cautious position towards Airbus Commercial, specifies the broker.
For this first quarter, consolidated free cash flow before customer financing stood at -1.791 billion euros (compared to -876 million euros in the first quarter of 2023), mainly reflecting the expected increase in inventory levels, linked to the ramp-up in the production of different programs.
However, in the first quarter of 2024, Airbus’ consolidated turnover increased by 9% year-on-year to 12.8 billion euros (compared to 11.8 billion euros in the first quarter of 2023). Revenue generated by Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities increased by 13%, mainly driven by increased deliveries.
In this first quarter, consolidated net profit jumped 28% to stand at 595 million euros (compared to 466 million euros in the first quarter of 2023), i.e. consolidated earnings per share of 0.76 euros compared to 0. 59 euros in the first quarter of 2023.
“No sign of improvement”
“The results for the first quarter of 2024 were obtained in an operational context showing no signs of improvement. Tensions persist on the geopolitical scene and in the supply chain. In this context, we delivered 142 commercial aircraft,” a declared Guillaume Faury, Executive Chairman of Airbus.
In parallel with the presentation of its quarterly results, Airbus indicates that its forecasts remain unchanged as indicated in February 2024. The company is targeting around 800 deliveries of commercial aircraft in 2024; an adjusted EBIT of between 6.5 and 7 billion euros; free cash flow before customer financing of approximately 4 billion euros.
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