Airbus will pay a dividend of 1.8 euros, the same as the previous year, plus a special dividend of 1 euro per share
TOULOUSE (FRANCE), 15 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The European aeronautical manufacturer Airbus registered a net profit of 3,789 million euros in 2023, which represents a reduction of 11% compared to the previous year, when it registered a record profit, as reported this Thursday by the company, which has been seen largely affected by worse performance in the Defense and Space area.
Specifically, the adjusted net operating income (Ebit) of this segment decreased by 40%, to 229 million euros, impacted by the update of the estimate at the conclusion of certain Space programs, which resulted in charges of 600 millions of euros.
This business area had already been affected at the end of the third quarter, since the adjusted Ebit for the first nine months of the year was negative by one million euros due to charges of 400 million euros related to the satellite development program .
In contrast, the Airbus commercial aircraft area recorded an adjusted Ebit of 4,818 million euros (5%), while the adjusted Ebit of Airbus Helicopters was 735 million euros (15%), which demonstrates a “solid performance ” of all programs.
In total, the company’s adjusted Ebit in 2023 was 5,838 million euros (4%), while the reported Ebit, which does not exclude expenses or benefits derived from extraordinary events, contracted 14%, to 4,603 million euros .
This also includes some net adjustments worth 1,235 million euros, the bulk of them (1,030 million euros) derived from the lag between the transaction date and delivery of some products.
Revenue for the year grew by 11%, reaching 65.4 billion euros. The commercial area contributed 47,763 million euros (15%), which reflects the increase in deliveries. Helicopters revenues grew by 4%, to 7,337 million euros, and the Defense and Space area recorded sales of 11,495 million euros (2%).
Free cash flow decreased by 11% compared to a year before, reaching 3,885 million euros, while free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions and customer financing contracted by 6%, reaching 4,368 million euros. euros. The consolidated net cash position as of December 31 was 10.7 billion euros (13%).
DIVIDENDS
With these results, the company’s board of directors will propose to the 2024 annual general meeting, which will be held on April 10, the payment of a dividend of 1.8 euros per share, identical to that of the previous year, and a dividend special of 1 euro per share. The proposed date for payment is April 18.
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury has indicated that this dividend proposal reflects the “solid” financial results for 2023, as well as the growth prospects for 2024 and the “robustness” of the balance sheet.
ACHIEVE COMMERCIAL DELIVERY GOAL
Throughout the year, the aeronautical manufacturer managed to deliver 735 commercial aircraft, 11% more than last year and above the target of 720 that had been set for the year.
Net orders for commercial aircraft were 2,094, more than double the 820 of the previous year, valued at 162,571 million euros, almost triple (172%) than in 2022.
With this, the commercial aircraft order book as of December 31 was 8,598 aircraft, 19% more than at the end of 2022, with a total value of 490,812 million euros (26%).
Airbus Helicopters registered 393 net orders, 8.5% more, distributed among the different programs, and orders received by Defende and Space increased by 15%, to 15.7 billion euros in value. Orders for the last quarter include 16 C295 aircraft for Spain.
In total, the orders received throughout the year by all business areas have a value of 186,493 million euros, more than double (126%) than those of the entire fiscal year 2022.
The consolidated order book was 554 billion euros at the end of 2023, 23%. This increase is primarily due to a company-wide hiring-to-sales ratio above 1, partially offset by a weaker US dollar.
13% LESS IN THE LAST QUARTER
In the last quarter of the year, net profit was 1,457 million euros, 13% less than in the same period of the previous year.
Adjusted Ebit grew by 3%, to 2,207 million euros, and revenues reached 22,886 million euros (11%). The adjusted Ebit of Airbus commercial contracted 7% in the quarter, with 1,602 million euros, and that of Helicopters reached 318 million euros (23%).
Of note is the increase in adjusted Ebit in the Defense and Space area (50%), which reached 230 million euros.
2024, A YEAR WITHOUT “DISTURBATIONS”
Faury has defined 2023 as a year in which the company achieved “solid order volume” and that achieved a “significant achievement in the face of the complexity of the operating environment.”
Looking ahead to 2024, Airbus expects no further disruption to the global economy or air traffic, supply chains, the company’s internal operations, or its ability to deliver products.
For this reason, it has proposed to deliver 800 commercial aircraft throughout the year (8.84%), achieve an adjusted Ebit of between 6,500 and 7,000 million euros and that the free cash flow before financing to customers reaches 4,000 millions of euros.
MAINTAINS THE GROWTH OF COMMERCIAL AIRCRAFT PRODUCTION
One of Airbus’ main objectives is to increase the production and delivery rate of aircraft for the coming years, with the intention of relaxing its order book as much as possible (8,598 at the end of 2023).
In this context, it is working to increase A220 production to reach a monthly production rate of 14 aircraft in 2026, focusing on “industrial maturity” and the financial performance of the program.
For the A320 family, the manufacturer ensures that production “progresses at a good pace” towards the rate of 75 aircraft per month in 2026, which is contributed by the construction of two new assembly lines in China and the United States, as well as the new Toulouse final assembly line.
Additionally, Airbus expects to deliver the first A321XLR, which entered the final assembly line in December, in the third quarter of 2024.
Regarding twin-aisle aircraft, Airbus continues to work to achieve a monthly rate of four aircraft for the A330 in 2024 and ten aircraft for the A350 in 2026.
