Full order book
Airbus wants to increase A350 production
November 8th, 2023, 7:32 p.m
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The demand for aircraft remains high and after the pandemic, long-haul aircraft in particular are being ordered. The Airbus group is reacting and wants to become more powerful in this area. However, the company expects that the supply chains will remain tense.
The aircraft manufacturer Airbus is responding to the growing demand for long-haul aircraft after the corona pandemic. The French-German group announced in Toulouse that ten Airbus A350 aircraft will be delivered per month from 2026, as many as planned before the crisis. Airbus had previously planned to have nine A350s by the end of 2025. For the short- and medium-haul A320 model, Airbus remains confident that it will increase production to 75 aircraft per month by 2026. For the current year, the group is sticking to its goal of delivering 720 commercial aircraft. After nine months there are 488, 51 more than a year earlier.
This drove up sales in the first nine months by twelve percent to 42.6 billion euros. The adjusted operating result (EBIT) climbed by four percent to 3.6 billion euros; in the third quarter alone the increase was 21 percent. Strong growth in commercial aircraft offset write-downs in the satellite business. However, analysts had expected slightly more sales and profits.
“We continue to make progress in implementing our business plan in a global environment that is becoming increasingly complex,” said Chief Executive Guillaume Faury. Demand for commercial aircraft is very strong, with long-haul aircraft in particular continuing to rise. “We expect the supply chain to remain a challenge,” said Faury. In the first nine months, 1,241 aircraft orders were received net – i.e. minus cancellations – compared to 647 a year ago.
For the full year, Airbus continues to target an adjusted EBIT of six billion euros. The operating cash inflow (free cash flow) is expected to reach three billion euros. After nine months, at 1.04 (2.90) billion euros, it is still significantly below the previous year due to the build-up of inventories in the summer.