AIRBUS Group said yesterday its net profit soared 59 percent in 2014 thanks to record deliveries of passenger jets and that it expects revenue and operating profits to climb further this year.
The company, best known for its passenger jets, chalked up a net profit of 2.34 billion euros (US$2.6 billion), which would have been even better had it not been for a provision of 551 million euros for delays to its A400M military transport plane.
That writedown was mostly compensated for however with an exceptional gain of 383 million euros due its sale of an 8 percent stake in Dassault Aviation, as well as its holdings in Finnish defense company Patria.
Operating profits climbed 54 percent to 4 billion euros, and it said this measure of earnings does not include exceptional items and that it expects a slight increase in 2015.
Sales, which are booked when aircraft are delivered, rose by 5 percent to 60.7 billion euros to what Airbus said was a record level, even though orders slumped by 23 percent to 166.4 billion euros.
Airbus’ order book rose by 26 percent to 857.5 billion euros at the end of last year.
“We achieved a significant improvement in profitability and cash generation in 2014 thanks to a record order book and strong operational performance in most areas,†CEO Tom Enders said in a statement.
We delivered more commercial aircraft than ever before, including the first A350, and our net orders were, once again, more than twice the number of deliveries,†he added.