Airbus (AIR) Q3 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Revenues for the first nine months of 2024 rose 5% year-on-year to €44.5 billion, driven by higher commercial aircraft deliveries and strong performance in Air Power and Helicopters services.

• Delivered 497 commercial aircraft in the first nine months of 2024, with strong demand across product lines and solid helicopter performance, but space business charges impacted results.

• EBIT Adjusted declined to €2.8 billion from €3.6 billion year-on-year, mainly due to charges in the space business and increased investments for future growth.

• Net income for the period was €1.8 billion, with reported EPS at €2.29 and adjusted EPS at €2.71, both down year-on-year.

• Free cash flow before customer financing was negative at €-0.8 billion, reflecting inventory build-up to support Q4 deliveries and ramp-up.

Financial highlights

• Commercial aircraft deliveries reached 497 units year-to-date, up from 488 in the prior year period.

• EBIT Adjusted for commercial aircraft was €3.0 billion, down from €3.2 billion, as higher deliveries were offset by increased R&D and temporary overstaffing.

• Helicopters delivered 190 units (down 7 year-on-year), but revenues rose to €4.9 billion due to favorable mix and strong services; EBIT Adjusted was €420 million.

• Defence and Space revenues increased 7% year-on-year to €7.6 billion, but EBIT Adjusted was impacted by €989 million in space program charges, resulting in €-661 million.

• Net cash position at end of September was €7.2 billion, with gross cash at €21.1 billion and liquidity around €30 billion.

Outlook and guidance

• 2024 guidance maintained: targeting around 770 commercial aircraft deliveries, EBIT Adjusted of €5.5 billion, and free cash flow before customer financing of €3.5 billion, assuming no major disruptions.

• Ramp-up to A320 family rate 75 targeted for 2027, with full-year rate in 2028; A350 ramp-up faces supply chain challenges, especially in 2025.

• Measures to adapt the Defence and Space segment are underway, including workforce reductions of up to 2,500 positions by mid-2026.

• Inflation expected to have a couple hundred million euro negative effect in 2024, with further easing anticipated into 2025.