Airbus is set to release its financial results for the third quarter on Wednesday. Here are the key details you need to know:
Revenue Forecast
Analysts predict that the European plane manufacturer will report revenue of €15.10 billion ($16.04 billion) for the three-month period ending in September. This forecast exceeds last year’s third-quarter revenue of €13.31 billion.
Profit Forecast
Net profit is expected to reach €837 million, surpassing the €667 million recorded in the same period last year.
Earnings Forecast
Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT), Airbus’s preferred measure of profitability, are expected to increase to €1.14 billion from €836 million.
What to Watch
Delivery Target & Guidance
Airbus aims to deliver a total of 720 commercial planes to customers this year. Investors will closely monitor whether the company maintains this target. As of September, Airbus had delivered 488 aircraft, meaning it needs to send an additional 232 planes to meet its annual goal. Financial targets, including adjusted earnings of approximately €6 billion and free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions and customer financing (a metric closely watched by analysts) of around €3 billion, will also be under scrutiny.
Supply-Chain Woes & Production Plans
The industry has been grappling with supply-chain challenges for several months, resulting in difficulties in procuring raw materials and spare parts. Last year, Airbus initially targeted 720 aircraft deliveries but was forced to reduce and ultimately abandon this goal due to production constraints, reaching a total of 661 plane deliveries.
Investors will be interested in any comments regarding the state of the supply chain and whether it may impact Airbus’s production plans. Currently, the company plans to manufacture 75 A320 narrow-body aircraft per month by 2026. For its A330 wide-body model, Airbus aims to produce four planes per month by 2024. Furthermore, production of the larger A350 model is projected to reach nine planes per month by the end of 2025.
