Europe-based global major aerospace and defence group Airbus announced its results for the first half of this year (1H22) on Wednesday. It did not release any quarterly results at the same time.

It recorded revenues of €24.81-billion, a 1% increase over the €24.637-billion achieved during the same period last year (1H21). ‘Earnings before interest and taxes adjusted’ in 1H22 came to €2.645-billion, a 2% decrease from the €2.703-billion recorded in 1H21. Net income in 1H22 was €1.901-billion, a drop of 15% from the €2.231-billion of 1H21. Free cash flow during 1H22 was €1.665-billion, 18% down on the €2.012-billion achieved during 1H21.

“Airbus delivered a solid [1H22] financial performance in a complex operating environment, with the geopolitical and economic situation creating further uncertainties for the industry,” highlighted Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury. “The supply chain challenges are leading us to adjust the A320 family ramp-up steps in 2022 and 2023, and we now target a monthly rate of 65 in early 2024. Our aircraft delivery target for 2022 has been updated accordingly. The earnings and free cash flow guidance are maintained, underpinned by the [1H22] financials. The Airbus teams are engaged with suppliers and partners to ramp up towards an A320 family monthly production rate of 75 in 2025, backed by strong customer demand.”

At the end of 1H22, net orders for Airbus commercial aircraft stood at 259. The equivalent figure at the end of 1H21 had been 38. The first half of this year saw the first flight of the latest member of the A320neo family, the A321XLR, which took place in June. The suffix -XLR stands for extra-long-range, and the model is expected to enter into commercial service in early 2024.

As for the group’s widebody commercial aircraft types, it is, in conjunction with its supply chain partners, investigating production rate increases. This would be to meet increasing demand, flowing from the post-Covid-19 pandemic recovery in air travel.

The group expected to deliver about 700 commercial aircraft, both single-aisle and widebody, during the whole of this year.

Airbus Helicopters recorded 163 net orders in 1H22, up from 123 in 1H21. Airbus Defence and Space reported an order intake during 1H22 of €6.5-billion, substantially up from the €3.5-billion achieved during 1H21. One of Airbus Defence and Space’s orders, awarded during the second quarter of this year, was from the Spanish Air Force for 20 Eurofighter multirole fighters. (Airbus Defence and Space holds 46% of Eurofighter, while BAE Systems has 33% and Italian group Leonardo has the remaining 21%.)