Airbus has delivered 142 commercial aircraft and reported a revenue of € 12.8 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024.
“We delivered first quarter 2024 results against the backdrop of an operating environment that shows no sign of improvement. Geopolitical and supply chain tensions continue. In that context, we delivered 142 commercial aircraft,” said Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury.
“We started 2024 with a solid order intake across our businesses. The strong momentum on widebody aircraft underpins our decision to increase the production rate for the A350 to 12 aircraft a month in 2028. Our ramp up plans are continuing, supported by the investments in our production system while relying on our core pillars of safety, quality, integrity, compliance and security.”
Gross commercial aircraft orders totalled 170 (Q1 2023: 156 aircraft) with the same number of net orders due to no cancellations (Q1 2023 net orders: 142 aircraft). The order backlog amounted to 8,626 commercial aircraft at the end of March 2024. Airbus Helicopters registered 63 net orders (Q1 2023: 39 units), mainly in the light and medium segments. Airbus Defence and Space’s order intake by value was € 2.0 billion (Q1 2023: € 2.5 billion).
Consolidated revenues increased 9 percent year-on-year to € 12.8 billion (Q1 2023: € 11.8 billion). A total of 142 commercial aircraft were delivered (Q1 2023: 127 aircraft), comprising 12 A220s, 116 A320 Family, 7 A330s and 7 A350s.
Revenues generated by Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities increased 13 percent, mainly reflecting the higher number of deliveries.
Airbus Helicopters’ deliveries totalled 50 units (Q1 2023: 71 units) while its revenues decreased nine percent, reflecting the lower volume of deliveries, partially offset by services. Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space increased four percent mainly driven by the Air Power business, partly offset by a less favourable phasing in Space Systems. One A400M military airlifter was delivered in the quarter.
An alternative performance measure and key indicator capturing the underlying business margin by excluding material charges or profits caused by movements in provisions related to programmes, restructuring or foreign exchange impacts as well as capital gains/losses from the disposal and acquisition of businesses – was € 577 million (Q1 2023: € 773 million).
It includes the planned impact linked to the increased Airbus Employee Share Ownership Plan, which saw record participation among employees, and resulted in a year-on-year expense increase of slightly above € 0.1 billion.
EBIT Adjusted related to Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities decreased to € 507 million (Q1 2023: € 580 million), with the positive impact from higher deliveries being offset by a slightly less favourable hedge rate as well as investments for preparing the future.
The A220 ramp-up continues towards a monthly production rate of 14 aircraft in 2026, with a focus on the programme’s industrial maturity and financial performance.
On the A320 Family programme, the Company is making progress towards the rate of 75 aircraft per month in 2026. Entry-into-service of the A321XLR continues to be expected in Q3 2024. On widebody aircraft, the Company has decided to increase the production rate for the A350 to 12 aircraft a month in 2028 and continues to target rate 4 for the A330 in 2024.
