A strong fourth quarter in terms of commercial airliner deliveries enabled Airbus to deliver against its 2016 financial guidance, but company figures were dragged down by a €2.2 billion ($2.3 billion) write-off associated with a military transport aircraft.
Net income for Airbus Group, which includes Commercial Aircraft, Helicopters and Defense & Space divisions, fell by 63% to €995 million compared to €2.7 billion in 2015. Group revenue rose 3% to €66.6 billion.
A400M Farnborough 2010 - Photo: Per Gram
The main reason for the slump was a €2.2 billion write-off against the delayed A400M strategic military transport aircraft, which has entered service with several air forces but has suffered from propeller and gearbox problems.
Net profit figures were not given for the individual divisions, but Commercial Aircraft returned an EBIT of €1.5 billion, down 33% from 2015’s figure of €2.3 billion. Commercial Aircraft revenues rose 7% to €49.2 billion.
“We have delivered on the commitments that we gave a year ago and achieved our guidance and objectives, with one exception, the A400M, where we had to take another significant charge totaling €2.2 billion in 2016,” Airbus CEO Tom Enders said Feb. 22. “De-risking the program and strengthening program execution are our top priorities for this aircraft in 2017.”