Airbus has released its financial results for 2024, taking an optimistic outlook for 2025. Despite a challenging year, the aerospace giant achieved strong order intake and met its delivery targets, setting the stage for continued growth and innovation.
Deliveries of commercial aircraft increased to 766 in 2024, up from 735 in 2023.
“We secured a robust order intake across all our business segments in 2024,” stated Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO. “Our book-to-bill ratio, significantly above 1, demonstrates the healthy demand for our products and services. We delivered on our 2024 guidance, navigating what was a testing year for Airbus.”
Faury highlighted the company’s focus on key priorities, including ramping up production and transforming the Defence and Space division.
He emphasized Airbus’s commitment to profitable growth and its ambitious decarbonization goals. The strong financial performance in 2024 bolsters the proposal for an increased dividend, signaling confidence in the company’s future.
Commercial Aircraft: A Year of Growth
Airbus saw gross commercial aircraft orders totaling 878 in 2024. This figure is lower than the exceptional 2,319 orders in 2023.
However, the net orders of 826 aircraft, after cancellations, still represent a solid performance compared to 2,094 in the previous year.
The company’s backlog remains substantial, reaching 8,658 aircraft by the end of December 2024, ensuring a healthy pipeline for future deliveries.
Deliveries of commercial aircraft increased to 766 in 2024, up from 735 in 2023. This comprised a diverse mix of aircraft variants.
The deliveries included 75 A220s, 602 A320 Family aircraft, 32 A330s, and 57 A350s. The increased deliveries translated into a 6% rise in revenues from commercial aircraft activities, reaching €50.6 billion.
The EBIT Adjusted for commercial aircraft activities also saw positive growth, increasing to €5,093 million from €4,818 million in 2023.
This improvement reflects the higher delivery numbers, although investments in future preparations partially offset the gains.
Production Ramp-Up and Supply Chain Challenges
The A320 Family program continues its ambitious ramp-up, targeting a production rate of 75 aircraft per month by 2027. Production of the A330 is stabilizing at around rate 4.
However, Airbus is facing specific supply chain challenges, particularly with Spirit AeroSystems, impacting the ramp-up of the A350 and A220 programs.
The A350 production rate is now targeted at 12 aircraft per month in 2028. Consequently, the entry-into-service of the A350 freighter variant has been adjusted to the second half of 2027.
For the A220, the company maintains its target production rate of 14 aircraft per month in 2026.
Looking Ahead: 2025 Guidance
For 2025, Airbus anticipates delivering around 820 commercial aircraft. The company projects an EBIT Adjusted of approximately €7.0 billion and a Free Cash Flow before Customer Financing of around €4.5 billion.
These projections are based on the assumption of no significant disruptions to global trade, the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, Airbus’ internal operations, or its ability to deliver products and services.
Spirit Aerosystems Integration
Crucially, the 2025 guidance incorporates the estimated impact of integrating certain Spirit AeroSystems work packages, based on preliminary assessments and assuming the integration is finalized by July 1, 2025.
Integrating some of Spirit AeroSystems’ work is expected to have little effect on Airbus’s operating profit (EBIT Adjusted). However, it will likely temporarily reduce the company’s free cash flow (the money it has readily available).
This reduction is estimated to be in the hundreds of millions of euros. Fortunately, Airbus expects to receive compensation from Spirit AeroSystems that will balance out this cash flow hit, so the overall effect on Airbus’s cash position should be minimal.
Overall, Airbus’ 2024 performance demonstrates its resilience and ability to navigate challenges. With a strong order book, increasing deliveries, and a clear vision for the future, the company is well-positioned for 2025.
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