More than €4 billion profit for Airbus

European aerospace group Airbus made a net profit of 4.2 billion euros last year, or a 12% increase. The profit came mainly from the strong demand for Airbus aircraft. Sales rose 6% to 69.2 billion euros.

Airbus delivered 766 commercial aircraft last year, including 602 from the A320 family. Airbus plans to increase the number of deliveries this year to 820. The order book had 8,658 aircraft ordered at the end of last year.

Not a good news show in every division

With this net profit of 4.2 billion euros, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer is on the level of 2022, when the group recorded the highest profit in its history.

In addition to delivering 766 commercial aircraft, Airbus also registered 450 orders for Airbus Helicopters. The Defense and Space division order book also reached a record 15.7 billion euros, partly thanks to a Spanish order for another 25 Eurofighter jets.

However, the division struggled as demand for its telecom satellites fell in recent years. By 2024, it had written off 1.3 billion euros worth of assets, putting 2,000 jobs at risk.

Production of A400M under review

Production activities of the A400M military transport aircraft are also under review, given “uncertainties about order levels.” Since its launch more than twenty years ago, the four-engine aircraft has become Europe’s most expensive military program.

Costs, meanwhile, rose to more than 25 billion euros. In recent years, Airbus has faced a series of technical problems, rising costs, and customers such as Germany and the United Kingdom scaling back orders.

According to Airbus, ten countries ordered 178 A400M aircraft. This includes Belgium, which bought seven aircraft to replace the aging C-130s from US manufacturer Lockheed Martin.

No delivery before 2030

For 2025, Airbus expects, among other things, an adjusted operating profit (debit) of some 7 billion euros, up from 5.4 billion euros in 2024. In these forecasts, the group assumes there will be no new disruptions to global trade and aviation. Possible import duties are not taken into account either.

However, Airbus planes ordered now may not be delivered before 2030 due to difficulties with suppliers and the well-stocked order book.

Rival Boeing in trouble

Airbus’ figures are in stark contrast to those of its major US rival Boeing, which has been struggling for several years due to quality problems in production and a more than 50-day strike in two major factories last year.

Boeing went $11.8 billion in the red last year, its sixth consecutive annual loss and its biggest since 2020. It delivered only 348 airplanes, also trailing Airbus for the sixth year in a row. Last year, two-thirds of the planes sold worldwide were Airbus, while the two giants split the market roughly 50/50 until now.

According to forecasts by the strategy consulting firm Roland Berger, Airbus will hold 58% of the medium-haul aircraft market by 2030, compared with 39% for Boeing and 3% for China’s Comac, at least if the US company does not experience new crises in the interim.

Trump losing patience

US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, is losing patience with the concern. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has asked Boeing’s chief executive to come to Washington and update him on the company’s commitment to addressing its quality and safety issues.

According to The New York Times, Trump, furious about delays in delivering two new Air Force One jets, has also empowered Elon Musk to explore drastic options to prod Boeing to move faster.

The newspaper does point out conflicts of interest. Musk has more than 2.4 billion dollars in contracts awarded in the past two years with the Air Force, and his SpaceX rocket company competes directly with Boeing’s aerospace division.