This morning, Airbus has looked back on what has been an extremely successful 2023 for the European planemaker. Let’s see how things have gone.
From an incredible year of sales, to a strong level of deliveries made throughout last year, this has been quite the feat despite strong external challenges.
Without further ado, let’s get into it…
An Incredible Year Financially…
In 2023, Airbus recorded a staggering 65.4bn EUR in revenue, resulting in adjusted EBIT’s of 5.8bn EUR.
The European planemaker was able to meet their targets and guidance for last year, with revenues rising 11% and EBIT Adjusted increasing from 5.62bn EUR from the year previous.
| Consolidated Airbus | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenues, in millions thereof defence, in millions | 65,446 11,929 | 58,763 11,491 | +11% +4% |
| EBIT Adjusted, in millions | 5,838 | 5,627 | +4% |
| EBIT (reported), in millions | 4,603 | 5,325 | -14% |
| Research & Development expenses, in millions | 3,257 | 3,079 | +6% |
| Net Income(2), in millions | 3,789 | 4,247 | -11% |
| Earnings Per Share | 4.80 | 5.40 | -11% |
| Free Cash Flow (FCF), in millions | 3,885 | 4,324 | -10% |
| Free Cash Flow before M&A, in millions | 3,950 | 4,534 | -13% |
| Free Cash Flow before M&A and Customer Financing, in millions | 4,386 | 4,680 | -6% |
| Dividend per share(4) | 1.80 | 1.80 | 0% |
| Special dividend per share(4) | 1.00 | – | – |
| Order intake, in millions | 186,493 | 82,521 | +126% |
What we can see from the table is that Net Income, Earnings Per Share and Free Cash flow are all in the negative percentages, but in the context of EBIT Adjusted, things are looking good for Airbus so far.
Compared to their main competitor Boeing, revenues are much higher for the American planemaker, but due to the continues issues with the 737 MAX and other aircraft programs, which is something Airbus hasn’t had much issue with, profits have been lower in Renton.
Deliveries & Orders Have Been Strong for Airbus…
One of the main highlights for Airbus last year was the amount of orders secured, but also how many aircraft they delivered in the space of a 12 month period.
| Orders | FY 2023 | FY 2022 | Change | Backlog | 31 Dec. 2023 | 31 Dec. 2022 | Change |
| Airbus, in units | 2,094 | 820 | +155% | 8,598 | 7,239 | +19% |
It remained clear that 2023 was the year of recovery for the European planemaker in the context of securing orders.
2,319 gross orders were confirmed by the European planemaker, which after alterations, produced a net result of 2,094 orders, a staggering 155% compared to the FY2022 period.
A total of 735 aircraft were delivered in FY2023, which compared to Boeing, showed how far ahead Airbus is in this current race for customer satisfaction and market share capture.
The American planemaker only achieved 528 deliveries last year, as delays to deliveries continued to beleaguer the production sites across the U.S.
Backlogs have increased by nearly 20% to 8,598 aircraft from 7,239 aircraft based on data accurate to December 31, 2023.
So on that front, things are looking good for Airbus, with strong sales and backlog securing the long-term future of the business as we progress further into this decade.
2024 Targets More Deliveries & Higher Profits…
Looking ahead to this year, such successes has enabled Airbus to produce a guidance for 2024, with the following three targets set:
- Around 800 commercial aircraft deliveries;
- EBIT Adjusted between € 6.5 billion and € 7.0 billion;
- Free Cash Flow before Customer Financing of around € 4.0 billion.
Confidence is high at Airbus as they expect no additional disruptions to the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, their own internal operations and it’s ability to deliver products and services, which no doubt references to the drawbacks faced in FY2022 as the world was just beginning to recover from COVID-19.
On the deliveries target, this will no doubt be part of the European planemaker’s overall approach to increasing production rates throughout this decade.
As a reminder, Airbus plans to ramp up production of the A220 to 14 per month by 2026 & 75 A320 Family aircraft per month by 2026 which they say “production is progressing well” on.
This has been through the creation of A320 Family Final Assembly Lines in Toulouse, Tianjin and Mobile.
Within this also, they have their flagship A321XLR aircraft coming into service this year, with the first delivery expected by Q324.
Four A330s will be built per month in 2024, and the A350 will see increases to 10 per month by 2026.
Airbus CEO: Continued Investment is the Strategy…
Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury commented on the successful results witnessed by the planemaker, but insisted that continued investment will be the strategy moving forward:
“In 2023 we recorded strong order intake across all our businesses and we delivered on our commitments.”
“This was a significant achievement given the complexity of the operating environment”.
“We will continue to invest in our global industrial system, while progressing on our transformation and decarbonisation journey.”
“Our dividend proposals are a reflection of the strong 2023 financials, our growth prospects in 2024 and balance sheet strength.”
It’s clear that Faury accepts the difficulties that have come about over the last 12 months, but has managed to get things over the lines pretty well.
Overall…
It remains clear that Airbus has had a very strong year in the aerospace industry, with the amount of orders secured and aircraft being delivered reflecting that.
From a mega order with IndiGo for 500 aircraft at the Paris Air Show, to just sitting back and waiting to see what comes from the recent mishaps with Boeing, the European planemaker is in a very strong position at the moment.
Such a strong position is also unique in scope, as the European manufacturer has an opportunity to steal potential orders off of Boeing in the wake of what is going on with the 737 MAX.
Customers are beginning to lose their patience, which is something that Boeing needs to take care of.
Otherwise, who knows the limits of how far Airbus can take their 2023 success, and explode it into the stratosphere, continuing to be the hottest manufacturer on the planet currently.
Did you know AviationSource has two newsletters? One covers the general news and analysis of the industry as a whole, and the other to do with emergencies that take place throughout the year! To subscribe to our General News Newsletter, CLICK HERE!
To subscribe to our Emergencies, Accidents & Incidents Newsletter, CLICK HERE!
Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!
