Airbus has reported nine-months 2019 consolidated financial results and provided full-year guidance.
Consolidated revenues increased to €46.2 billion (9m 2018: €40.4 billion), mainly driven by higher deliveries, a favorable mix and foreign exchange rate development. A total of 571 commercial aircraft were delivered (9m 2018: 503 aircraft), comprising 33 A220s, 422 A320 Family aircraft, 34 A330s, 77 A350s and five A380s. Airbus Helicopters delivered 209 units (9m 2018: 218 units) with its stable revenues supported by growth in services and reduced by program phasing. In September, the 1,000th Super Puma helicopter was delivered. Higher revenues at Airbus Defense and Space were mainly driven by Military Aircraft activities. Consolidated EBIT Adjusted increased to €4,133 million (9m 2018: €2,738 million), mainly reflecting the commercial aircraft performance at Airbus. Airbus’ EBIT Adjusted increased sharply to €3,833 million (9m 2018: €2,340 million), largely driven by the A320 ramp-up and NEO premium, progress on the A350 financial performance and foreign exchange improvement which already materialized in H1 2019.
“Our nine-months results are mainly driven by the performance in commercial aircraft, reflecting both the A320neo ramp-up and progress on the A350,” said Airbus Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury. “We are focused on the A320neo ramp-up and improving the industrial flow while managing the higher level of complexity on the A321 ACF in particular. Our nine-month delivery numbers and the updated delivery outlook for the year reflect the underlying actions to secure a more efficient delivery flow in the next years as we progress to rate 63 per month for the A320 Family in 2021. The full-year free cash flow guidance has been adjusted to reflect the revised delivery outlook while the EBIT Adjusted target is maintained. We are focused on meeting our customer commitments and preparing the production system for the future.”
On the A320 program, NEO aircraft represented 338 out of the total 422 deliveries. The production ramp-up continued for the Airbus Cabin Flex (ACF) version of the A321, which remains challenging. The ACF program will further ramp up in Q4 2019 with efforts continuing throughout 2020 to improve the industrial maturity of the program. Airbus also continues to study different options to increase the share of the A321 in current A320 Family production capacity. The ramp-up of the A330neo continued and represented 26 of the total 34 A330 deliveries over the nine-month period. Airbus continued to make good progress on A350 recurring cost convergence with the program on track to reach the breakeven target for the year.
As the basis for its 2019 guidance, the Company expects the world economy and air traffic to grow in line with prevailing independent forecasts, which assume no major disruptions. The 2019 earnings and Free Cash Flow guidance is before M&A. Airbus now targets around 860 commercial aircraft deliveries in 2019, which reflects the updated delivery schedule. Airbus maintains its expected increase in EBIT Adjusted of approximately +15% compared to 2018. Airbus now expects FCF before M&A and Customer Financing of approximately €3 billion.
