Airbus Q4 EBIT Rises, Plans Special Dividend; Sees Higher FY24 Adj. EBIT

RTT Staff Writer•Thursday, February 15, 2024•2 min read

Airbus SE reported Thursday lower net profit in its fourth quarter, while EBIT, a key earnings metric, improved, benefited by higher revenues. Further, the company maintained its dividend, but announced a special dividend. Looking ahead for fiscal 2024, the company projects growth in adjusted EBIT and commercial aircraft deliveries.

Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer, said, “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…. Our dividend proposals are a reflection of the strong 2023 financials, our growth prospects in 2024 and balance sheet strength.”

The Board of Directors will propose the payment of a 2023 dividend of 1.80 euros per share, same as last year, and a special dividend of 1.00 euros per share to the 2024 Annual General Meeting taking place on April 10. The proposed payment date is April 18.

For the new year 2024, adjusted EBIT is expected between 6.5 billion euros and 7.0 billion euros, up from last year’s 5.84 billion euros. The company targets around 800 commercial aircraft deliveries, compared to prior year’s 735 aircraft deliveries.

In the year 2023, gross commercial aircraft orders totalled 2,319 aircraft, up from last year’s 1,078 aircraft. Net orders were 2,094 aircraft after cancellations, compared to 820 aircraft a year ago.

Consolidated order intake by value in the year increased to 186.5 billion euros from last year’s 82.5 billion euros.

The order backlog amounted to 8,598 commercial aircraft at the end of 2023.

The consolidated order book is valued at 554 billion euros at the end of 2023, compared to 449 billion euros last year.

In its fourth quarter, net income dropped 13 percent to 1.46 billion euros from last year’s 1.68 billion euros. Earnings per share were 1.85 euros, lower than last year’s 2.13 euros.

EBIT, however, grew 7 percent from last year to 1.89 billion euros, and adjusted EBIT grew 3 percent to 2.21 billion euros. It mainly reflected the increased commercial aircraft deliveries, and improved performance across programmes and services at Helicopters.

Revenues for the quarter climbed 11 percent to 22.89 billion euros from 20.64 billion euros a year ago, mainly reflecting the higher commercial aircraft deliveries, and the higher contribution from Airbus Defence and Space and Airbus Helicopters.

Among segments, Airbus generated revenues of 16.26 billion euros, up 10 percent from last year, and the growth was 19 percent in Airbus Helicopters to 2.68 billion euros. Airbus Defence and Space revenues also climbed 19 percent to 4.36 billion euros.

In Paris, Airbus shares were trading at 149.32 euros, down 0.63 percent.

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