Airbus warns of delivery uncertainties but announces lift in revenue

Airbus announced strong order intake across all divisions in its annual earnings update on Thursday, further outperforming troubled competitor Boeing.

Revenues totalled €69.23 billion in 2024, up from €65.45bn in the previous year.

Adjusted earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) came in at €5.35bn, an 8% drop from 2023's total of €5.84bn. 

The figure was slightly below estimates due to charges in Airbus' space division, which is undergoing a restructuring process.

"FY2024 results are a testament to Airbus' leadership maintaining an acute focus on the fundamentals," said Anita Mendiratta, aviation and tourism expert.

"The strong order intake across all divisions signifies sustained market confidence – critical in 2024 when, for the first full year since the end of the global pandemic, trade was able to not only recover but grow to a rate of surge," she added.

The firm delivered 766 commercial aircraft in 2024 after a concerted end-of-year effort, compared to 735 in 2023.

Gross commercial aircraft orders for 2024 totalled 878, with net orders of 826 after cancellations.

Targets for the coming year

Looking to the year ahead, Airbus offered a modest delivery target of 820 commercial aircraft, down from a peak of 863 seen in 2019.

This number "seems slightly conservative but is understandable given ongoing supply chain issues", said Quilter Cheviot equity analyst Matt Dorset.

"The company will want to avoid another cut to guidance as occurred in 2024," he added.

In June last year, Airbus lowered its targets for earnings and aircraft deliveries, denting investor confidence.

The firm said the reassessment was linked to "persistent specific supply chain issues mainly in engines, aerostructures and cabin equipment", as well as additional costs in its space systems division.

A little less than a year on, Airbus is still battling with the same hurdles, which can be traced back to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Specific supply chain challenges, notably with Spirit AeroSystems, are currently putting pressure on the ramp up of the A350 and the A220," the firm noted on Thursday.

Airbus is expecting adjusted EBIT to be around €7bn in 2025, while free cash flow before customer financing is forecast at roughly €4.5bn.

The forecasts don't, however, take into account the effects of tariffs that could be imposed by US President Donald Trump.

Airbus flies ahead of Boeing

Airbus increased its dividend for 2024 to €2, up from €1.80 a year earlier, and has proposed an additional special dividend of €1 per share.

The proposed payment date is 24 April 2025.

Airbus' robust financial situation stands in contrast to the fortunes of its competitor Boeing.

Along with a series of safety crises, the US planemaker contended with strikes last year and issues with its defence programmes.

The aerospace giant lost $11.8bn (€11.3bn) across the whole of 2024, its worst result since 2020.