Airbus Raises 2021 Cash Flow, Earnings Guidance Despite Third-Quarter Sales Drop -- Update
28 October 2021 - 7:18PM
Dow Jones News
By Olivia Bugault
Airbus SE has raised its free cash flow and earnings guidance
for the year again despite booking lower sales in its third quarter
as it delivered fewer commercial planes.
At 0733 GMT, Airbus shares were up 2.9% at EUR113.18.
The European plane maker said Thursday that it is now expecting
adjusted earnings before interest and taxes at around 4.5 billion
euros ($5.22 billion) for the year. It targets free cash flow
before mergers and acquisitions and customer financing at roughly
EUR2.5 billion.
Airbus previously raised its outlook in July, when it guided for
adjusted EBIT of EUR4 billion and free cash flow of EUR2
billion.
The company on Thursday maintained its target of 600 commercial
jet deliveries for the year. Over the first nine months of 2021,
Airbus has delivered 424 aircraft.
The updated outlook comes as Airbus posted net profit of EUR404
million in the quarter, which compared with a net loss of EUR767
million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 6% to
EUR10.52 billion on the back of lower plane deliveries. Airbus
delivered 127 commercial aircraft in its third quarter, 18 fewer
than during the same period last year.
Airbus's more closely watched adjusted earnings before interest
and taxes fell 19% to EUR666 million, it said. Though lower than a
year ago, it is 7% above market expectations, Citi said.
Airbus reported free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions
and customer financing of EUR2.26 billion over nine months.
The company also updated its production ramp-up plans after
announcing in May that it was targeting a monthly production rate
of its A320 jet family at 45 in the fourth quarter of 2021 and 64
by the second quarter of 2023. Airbus is now working to step up
production to 65 per month by summer 2023 for its A320 family,
while keeping its short-term goal unchanged, it said.
Demand supports Airbus's planned output ramp-up, its Chief
Executive Officer Guillaume Faury said during a call with
journalists. Mr. Faury added that the company is still studying a
potential increase to up to 75 A320 family jets produced per month,
that it previously said could happen by 2025, and that that is also
supported by demand.
Regarding the production rate of its widebody jets, Airbus said
that "the recent commercial successes of the A330 program enable a
monthly rate increase from around 2 to almost 3 aircraft at the end
of 2022." It stuck to its plan to increase the output of its A350
wide-body jets to 6 a month from 5, though it should now happen in
early 2023 and not by the autumn of 2022 as previously said.
Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 28, 2021 04:03 ET (08:03 GMT)
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