Aerospace giant Airbus has seen profits plummet after commercial aircraft output halved, amid “persistent tensions” in its supply chain.
The company, which employs thousands of people at its UK sites in Filton, South Gloucestershire, and Broughton, North Wales, reported adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of £680m for the first quarter - down from £1.05bn a year earlier.
The firm delivered 127 commercial aircraft during the period, 15 fewer than the first quarter of its previous financial year, with adjusted EBIT for this wing of the business dropping to £510m this year from £937m last year.
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Revenue across the group dipped slightly from £10.5bn to £10.3bn, with a “strong performance” from Airbus’ helicopter arm offsetting the fall in activity for its planes business. The company delivered 71 helicopters, up from 39 for the same period earlier, with the division producing a more than 25% rise in revenue.
Airbus said revenues within its defence and space division fell by 6%, which it said was mainly driven by lower volume in military air systems and space systems. One of its A400M military transport aircraft was delivered during the start of 2023.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury said: “We continue to face an adverse operating environment that includes in particular persistent tensions in the supply chain. Our 2023 guidance is unchanged with commercial aircraft deliveries expected to be backloaded. We remain focused on delivering the commercial aircraft ramp-up and longer-term transformation.”
Bosses said gross commercial aircraft orders totalled 156 with net orders of 142 aircraft after cancellations - compared to 83 orders received in the first quarter of 2022. The company’s total order backlog amounted to around 7,250 commercial aircraft at the end of March.
The board said the company was targeting delivery of 720 commercial aircraft this year, and adjusted EBIT of £5.3bn - which would reflect a rise from the £4.9bn made last year - when it delivered 661 commercial aircraft.
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