PARIS – European aircraft maker Airbus today announced a rise in net profits in the third quarter, saying it achieved a “solid” financial performance despite a “complex” environment.
The company’s net profit increased year-on-year by 65% between July and September to €667 million (RM3 billion). Its turnover climbed by 27% to €13.3 billion in the same period.
Despite difficulties with suppliers, which have been disrupted since the Covid-19 pandemic, Airbus still expects to deliver around 700 aircraft in 2022, including more than 260 in the last three months of the year.
Deliveries of aircraft are a reliable indicator of profitability in the aerospace sector as clients pay most of their bills when they receive the planes.
Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury welcomed a “solid” financial performance in the first nine months of the year despite a “complex operating environment”.
He highlighted the “fragile” nature of supply chains following the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, energy supply issues and constrained labour markets.
The firm will maintain its goal of achieving an adjusted operating profit of €5.5 billion in 2022 and expects a higher cash flow, reflecting the strength of the dollar against the euro. – AFP, October 28, 2022
