Paris: European aircraft maker Airbus announced a rise in net profits for 2024, driven by increased plane deliveries and a strategic goal to further accelerate output. Net profit experienced a 12 percent increase, reaching 4.2 billion euros ($4.4 billion), despite a significant writedown in its space business earlier in the year.
According to Lao News Agency, the results highlight Airbus’s growing dominance over its competitor, Boeing, which reported an $11.8 billion loss for the year. Boeing’s financial challenges stemmed from a prolonged labor strike, major safety issues with commercial planes, and cost overruns on defense contracts. In contrast, Airbus’s commercial aircraft deliveries grew by 4.2 percent to 766, contributing to a six percent rise in revenues, totaling 69.2 billion euros.
Deliveries are a critical metric as airlines typically pay for aircraft upon receipt. Boeing managed only 348 aircraft deliveries in 2024, affected by strikes and safety reviews. Both Airbus and its suppliers faced challenges in scaling production back up after the Covid-19 pandemic, which nearly halted international air travel. Despite a drop in net orders from 2,094 in 2023 to 826 in 2024, Airbus emphasized that orders still exceeded deliveries. CEO Guillaume Faury expressed confidence in the company’s order intake and market demand for its products and services.
Earlier in the year, Airbus took a roughly 900-million-euro charge against first-half earnings following an extensive review of its space business, reducing first-half earnings to 825 million euros. This led to over 2,000 job cuts as demand for telecommunications satellites declined. However, the Defense and Space division achieved record sales of 16.7 billion euros, bolstered by Spain’s order of an additional 25 Eurofighter aircraft.
Looking ahead, Airbus aims for a seven percent increase in deliveries for 2025, targeting 820 aircraft. The company stressed that this goal assumes no additional disruptions to global trade, the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, or its internal operations. The forecast excludes potential tariffs on its activities.
Boeing’s ongoing struggles are poised to expand Airbus’s market share. While the two companies have traditionally split the market for medium and long-range commercial aircraft evenly, Airbus is projected to capture 58 percent of the market by the decade’s end. Boeing’s share is expected to decrease to 39 percent, while China’s Comac is anticipated to hold a three percent share. Nevertheless, Boeing’s issues have also posed operational challenges for Airbus, as both companies share some suppliers, who have been affected by Boeing’s production pauses. In July, Boeing acquired Spirit AeroSystems, a manufacturer of fuselage and wing sections, to enhance quality control. This acquisition necessitated Airbus to purchase Spirit AeroSystems’s operations dedicated to its aircraft supply.