Airbus has adjusted its key industrial and financial targets and has set aside a hefty charge of €900 million ($965 million) for its troubled space division. Europe's largest aerospace group hopes to address supply disruptions and commercial risks through these measures.
Facing growing skepticism from suppliers regarding its aircraft production plans, Airbus has lowered this year's delivery target from around 800 to approximately 770 units.
It has also delayed the ramp-up of its best-selling A320neo series, shifting the target date to reach a monthly production of 75 units from 2026 to 2027. The current production rate is estimated at 50 units per month.
Due to the lowered delivery expectations, reducing the annual growth rate from 9% to 5%, Airbus has also downgraded its primary financial targets for 2024.
Now, Airbus expects its core operating income to be around €5.5 billion, down from the previous range of €6.5 billion to €7 billion, and free cash flow to be €3.5 billion, previously forecasted at €4 billion.
“We are currently facing headwinds, and we must buckle down,” Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told analysts.
The downward revision of industrial expectations comes weeks after Reuters first reported that Airbus was grappling with new production delays while struggling to manage an increasingly severe shortage of parts.
Industry sources indicate that Airbus has exhausted its delivery buffer after failing to meet delivery targets in the first five months, and the start of June has not been promising, with delivery numbers only half of what was expected.
