Airbus posted higher than expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday and reaffirmed its full-year goals, as bottlenecks of undelivered aircraft began to ease and costs tumbled on the group's newest big jet, the A350.
Its shares rose more than 5 per cent to a record high.
Airbus is in the midst of its largest industrial overhaul since it was founded almost 50 years ago, replacing or updating its two most profitable product lines while simultaneously speeding up production to meet record air travel demand.
While the introduction of the A350 has gone relatively smoothly, showing "strong improvements" in costs as Airbus heads towards a production goal of 10 a month by end-year, the smaller A320neo continues to cause headaches.
Deliveries of the medium-haul jet, which generates most profit and cash for Europe's largest aerospace group, have been delayed by gaps in engine supplies from Pratt & Whitney, and to a lesser extent French-US CFM .
But Airbus reached a turning point in May as the queue of semi-finished planes clogging the tarmac outside European plants started heading lower having peaked at 100.
For the first time, Airbus said it had delivered more of the A320neo jets carrying new engines in the second quarter than the previous A320 version. But it said risks remained to its "challenging" delivery forecast of 800 in total this year.
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"It's certainly going to be a hell of a ride but the 800 aircraft delivery target is feasible," said chief executive Tom Enders.
"We have the engines, we have the airframes, but getting so many aircraft out of storage ... is not an easy task and requires additional resources which we are mobilising."
Airbus delivered 303 aircraft in the first half.
The Toulouse-based company said second-quarter adjusted operating earnings doubled to €1.15 billion (Dh4.95bn) as revenue rose 8 per cent to €14.85bn.
Analysts were on average predicting an adjusted operating profit of €1.01bn on revenue of €14.55bn, according to a Reuters survey.
Mr Enders said it was too early for Airbus to decide whether to raise production of the A350, despite Boeing sticking to plans to increase output of the rival 787 Dreamliner to 14 a month.
On smaller aircraft, he predicted Airbus overseas assembly plants in China and the United States would see their volumes increase by 50 per cent in coming years.
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Sweet Tooth
Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Background: Chemical Weapons
The Specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 118hp
Torque: 149Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Price: From Dh61,500
On sale: Now
Mina Cup winners
Under 12 – Minerva Academy
Under 14 – Unam Pumas
Under 16 – Fursan Hispania
Under 18 – Madenat
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians