Airbus profits drop in third quarter as plane deliveries slow

{"text":[[{"start":7.44,"text":"Airbus profits fell by 9 per cent in the third quarter, as supply chain problems and quality issues held back deliveries of commercial aircraft for the world’s largest planemaker."}],[{"start":17.48,"text":"The company on Wednesday stuck with its full-year target of delivering about 870 aircraft, a day after rival Boeing cut its goal for the year, but said third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and tax — the company’s preferred metric — fell to €1.77bn."}],[{"start":34,"text":"Airbus said the drop in profits reflected the lower volume of plane deliveries as well as integration costs from absorbing work from supplier Spirit AeroSystems. Revenues for the period dropped 2 per cent to €17.5bn."}],[{"start":48.04,"text":"“Against a complex geopolitical and operating environment, we are focused on delivery while maintaining a steadfast focus on quality,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive."}],[{"start":58.52,"text":"“Our plan is clear, and our teams are on board to meet our objectives.”"}],[{"start":62.72,"text":"The company’s shares have fallen more than 5 per cent since the start of the year as supply chain hurdles and quality issues have held back output. But the European aerospace and defence group on Wednesday also maintained its key financial targets for this year."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":77.32,"text":"Airbus has said it plans to deliver about 870 planes by the end of 2026. It delivered 547 commercial aircraft in the year to the end of September, leaving it with more than 320 planes to hand over to airline customers over the three final months. It managed 196 deliveries in the third quarter."}],[{"start":97.4,"text":"The group has been plagued by production defects and supply chain bottlenecks over the past two years despite surging demand for its best-selling family of A320 narrow-body aircraft — which are sold out for the next eight years. In addition, deliveries of its wide-body A330 jets slowed over the summer after it identified a quality lapse in June in some in-production aircraft."}],[{"start":119.06,"text":"The company recently highlighted delays from US engine maker Pratt & Whitney for its A320 jets and quality issues with cabin seats as its two main remaining challenges."}],[{"start":129.36,"text":"Faury told reporters the engines remained the “pacing item” for production, adding Airbus’s teams were “fully mobilised for a year-end rally” to deliver on its delivery target."}],[{"start":138.92,"text":"The CEO also said despite the high fuel prices due to the war in the Middle East, the group was seeing “no cancellation and no demand for postponement” from airline customers."}],[{"start":149.56,"text":"This article was updated to make clear that the adjusted earnings for Airbus were before interest and tax, not before profit and tax."}],[{"start":162.8,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793252887_9268.mp3"}