Airbus this week unveiled a record profit in its history with 4.2 billion euros for the year 2022. Good results welcomed by a rise of nearly 5% in the stock market. However, the Toulouse aeronautical group is facing industrial difficulties which caused it to miss its target of 720 deliveries with only 661 aircraft last year.
What a crazy week for Airbus! Rarely has the Toulouse aircraft manufacturer experienced such a succession of (good) news. On Thursday, the aeronautical group indeed published a record profit of 4.2 billion euros for the year 2022. It was driven by the increase in its aircraft deliveries from 611 in 2021 to 661 last year. . However, this is less than expected since Airbus hoped to deliver 720, but the difficulties of the chain of subcontractors and supplies that have become scarce have forced the group’s management to revise its forecasts downwards. A revision that made the markets wonder regarding Airbus’s ability to meet its 2023 commitments while the stock market hates broken promises.
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A total order book of 450 billion
This year, for its Aircraft division, Airbus expects 720 deliveries. This was the initial objective for the year 2022 finally reduced to 700 during the year when in the end only 661 copies actually left nine assembly lines in the world (see opposite) including those of Toulouse. Apart from these difficulties that the aircraft manufacturer hopes will be temporary, the sky is very clear for Airbus. Last year, 820 net orders (excluding cancellations) were won by Airbus, often to the detriment of its rival Boeing (see below).
This brings the order book to 7,239 aircraft to be delivered. Such a volume represents more than ten years of production, which is one of the best visibilities for the Airbus factories and their companions. By adding space, defense and helicopters, the aeronautical group faces an order book never reached of 450 billion products to be delivered in the coming years.
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Agreement with Qatar Airways: 23 A350s to be delivered
The most emblematic latest sale was that obtained from Air India this week for 250 aircraft, including 40 long-haul A350s. It might reach a total of 70 billion dollars. The first A350s in the colors of the Indian company might be delivered by the end of this year thanks to the reassignment of the A350s initially intended for the Russian Aeroflot and blocked because of the European embargo on aeronautical products.
Other good news: the 1is February Airbus managed to find common ground with Qatar Airways over a dispute over the paint quality of certain A350s delivered. The dispute, which has now been resolved, is causing 23 long-haul A350-1000s and fifty A321s still to be delivered to be reinstated in the order book in the near future following being removed from the order book last August. This “new” sale is valued at approximately $15 billion (before discounts). These commercial successes are good news but also pose “rich” problems for Airbus. If an airline orders an A320 today, the first delivery slot that Airbus can offer it is for… 2029!
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Toulouse: Airbus unveils its new factory dedicated to the A320, the best-selling aircraft in its range
New factory in Toulouse
Airbus has no choice but to produce more planes. To cope with this unavoidable increase in production rates, a new assembly line was unveiled this week in Blagnac near Toulouse. Capable of producing forty to fifty aircraft per year, it strengthens the industrial system of Airbus and strengthens Toulouse on the flagship product of the catalog: the A320 and its derivatives. Because until now the Toulouse assembly lines capable of producing a maximum of 19 A320s per month were not able to produce the larger version, the A321. It is now done with the key to 700 jobs. Half directly with Airbus, the other part with on-site subcontractors. Excellent news for the Toulouse ecosystem.