Airbus SE has lowered its target for commercial aircraft deliveries and is curtailing production of its best-selling narrow-body aircraft. There are no signs that the problems in the supply chain – affecting engines to microchips – are laying down.
The world’s largest aircraft manufacturer now wants deliver around 700 aircraft in 2022, it said in a statement late Wednesday. Previously, 720 was targeted. The delivery rate of 65 aircraft per month for the single-aisle A320 family, which was previously targeted for next summer, will now only be achieved in early 2024.
The revisions are not expected to impact Airbus’ financial performance in the near term as the company reiterated its full-year estimates of earnings and liquidity. However, they point to significant challenges in increasing production in an economic environment characterized by labor and material shortages.
A slower ramp-up in A320 production also means it could take longer to clear the five-year backlog, which could impact existing customers and hurt the company’s ability to win new orders.
Airbus recorded an adjusted Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of 2.64 billion euros, two percent less than in the previous year. Analysts polled by Bloomberg had forecast an average EBIT of 2.55 billion euros.
For for 2022 as a whole, a profit of 5.5 billion euros is expectedup from 4.9 billion euros in 2021. Free cash flow before customer financing and acquisitions is expected to be 3.5 billion euros, roughly in line with last year.