In October, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury presented the company's results for the
first nine months of 2022, revealing Airbus has a backlog of 7,294 commercial aircraft.
Let’s take a look at the results of the company in today’s video.
On the financial front, the Airbus group earned consolidated revenue of €38.1 billion,
an increase of 8% year-on-year. Adjusted earnings before interest and tax for
the first nine months amounted to €3.48 billion, a 3% gain over 2021.
Airbus’ commercial aircraft division contributed €26.65
billion in revenue and delivered 70% of the combined Airbus group revenue.
Airbus reported that net orders for the first nine months of 2022 totaled 647 aircraft,
an impressive change from the 133 ordered in the same period last
year. The production backlog reached 7,294 at the end of the first nine months of 2022.
There were 437 aircraft delivered by the end of September,
compared to 424 the same time last year.
Showing just how vital the single-aisle segment is to Airbus,
there were 340 A320-family deliveries, followed by 42 A350s, 34 A220s and 21 A330s.
Large corporations like Airbus are very wary of making financial predictions to the market,
with so many having been punished by the uncertainties of the pandemic. However,
Airbus reaffirmed its current market guidance, noting that,
"The company maintains its targets to achieve around 700 commercial aircraft deliveries and
around €5.5 billion of earnings before interest and taxes, Adjusted in 2022."
Doing the math, Airbus has to get another over 250 aircraft out the door by December 31st. That means
an average delivery rate of 88 aircraft a month for October to December, whereas the average rate
from January to September was 48. Faury is well aware of what he is signing off on, commenting:
"The commercial aircraft delivery and earnings targets are maintained. Our
teams are focused on our key priorities and, in particular,
delivering the commercial aircraft ramp-up over the coming months and years."
While that's reassuring, there's nothing about how Airbus will meet the target of 700. Every business
sprints to the end of the year finish line, and Faury would know exactly what the plan is,
but it will be fascinating to see how the next three months pan out delivery-wise.
Airbus did talk about A320 production rates, reaffirming it is progressing towards a monthly
rate of 65 aircraft in early 2024 and 75 in 2025. One element is that with the A321 becoming
more popular, all A320 family Final Assembly Lines are being adapted to be A321 capable.
This involves an upgrade to the second A320 final assembly line in Toulouse.
Widebody aircraft have not been forgotten, with Airbus working with its supply chain
on production rate increases to meet growing demand as international air travel recovers.
At the end of September, Airbus has 420 A350s and 213 A330s in backlog, and with some uncertainty
around the launch date of Boeings' 777X, widebody demand might even grow higher.
Do you think Airbus will be able to meet its target
and deliver 700 aircraft before December 31st?