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Airbus is sticking to its ambitious jet delivery target for the year despite supply chain disruptions caused by a shortage of engines as its quarterly profits rose on the back of a solid defence and space business.
The world’s largest planemaker said it handed over 507 commercial aircraft in the first nine months of the year — leaving it pressed to deliver a remaining 313 in the final three months of the year to meet its annual target of “around 820 deliveries”. It delivered 766 aircraft last year.
“Navigating strong demand, combined with specific supply chain tensions, still requires continuous operational discipline and agility, in particular in the environment of changing trade policies,” Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said on Wednesday.
Airbus has been wrestling with a shortage of engines, mainly from CFM International, for its narrow-body A320neo jets, which it said eased somewhat in the third quarter.
The shortage had forced it to build 32 “gliders”, or aircraft without engines, by end of September. It said it expected its engine suppliers to resolve the issue by the end of the year.
“The engine situation is showing signs of recovery and we continue to work closely with the manufacturers to deliver on our 2025 commitment,” Faury said.
Adjusted operating profit, a critical metric watched by analysts, rose 38 per cent to €1.9bn in the third quarter, slightly higher than analyst expectations of a profit of €1.8bn. Revenues increased 14 per cent to €17.8bn.
The European group’s results came as its US rival Boeing booked a $4.9bn charge related to the delay of its next generation 777X jet.
Meanwhile, Airbus said it would reduce the production of its smallest A220 aircraft to 12 units per month in 2026 compared with its earlier target of 14, which it said would give it enough time to integrate parts of Spirit AeroSystems into its operations.
Airbus still expects to produce 75 A320 narrow-body planes a month in 2027. The planemaker also reaffirmed its financial outlook for the full year for adjusted operating profit of about €7bn.
