Aerospace giant Airbus has targeted the delivery of 720 commercial aircraft in 2023 after supply chain pressures impacted its production last year.
The company, which employs thousands of people at its UK sites in Filton, South Gloucestershire, and Broughton, North Wales, reported increased revenue for 2022 of €58.8bn (£52.2bn) - up from € 52.1bn (£46.2bn) in 2021.
Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) also rose by 16% to € 5.6bn (£4.9bn), with bosses targeting a rise to €6bn (£5.3bn) for the current financial year.
Airbus recently revealed it delivered 661 commercial aircraft to 84 customers last year, retaining its position as the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer.
Bosses said this was not as many as the firm had “originally planned” due to its supply chain not recovering as quickly as expected, amid an “adverse operating environment”.
Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said: "We are adapting our production to match supply. As we move forward in 2023 we are focused on our industrial activities and the longer-term transformation of the company. The solid 2022 financial performance and our confidence in the future lead us to propose a higher dividend payment this year.”
Airbus said it secured 1,078 new orders (820 net) across all programmes and market segments in 2022, and would be ramping up production in 2023 to make its ways through an order backlog which stood at 7,239 aircraft at the end of December 2022.
Consolidated order intake value increased to €82.5bn (£73.2bn) from the €62bn (£55bn) recorded for 2021, with the consolidated order book valued at €449bn (£398bn) at the end of 2022, compared to € 398bn (£353bn) 12 months earlier.
The firm’s defence and space division’s order intake was valued at €13.7bn (£12.1bn) - unchanged from 2021 - with key orders including 20 new Eurofighter jets for the Spanish Air Force.
Meanwhile, its helicopters business’ adjusted EBIT increased to €639m (£566m) from: €535m (£474m) a year earlier, which Airbus said reflected “higher services and programme execution”.
Consolidated free cash flow before M&A and customer financing was €4.6 million - (£4m) up from €3.5m (£3.1m)., which the company said was supported by a favourable foreign exchange environment and strong positive phasing impact from working capital.
Earlier this week Airbus secured a multi-billion-pound new aircraft contract with Air India, which has agreed to buy 40 of the company's wide-body long range A350 aircraft and 210 narrow body aircraft. The deal will see a £100m investment in the Broughton site, with the wings to be designed in Filton.
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