Airbus delivers on growth with €65.4bn in revenue

Business a.m

European aviation giant Airbus released its financial results for 2023, and the numbers show a robust performance with a significant increase in commercial aircraft orders. Consolidated revenues reached €65.4 billion, driven by the strong demand for new aircraft. The company’s backlog of orders also stood at €554 billion, demonstrating its financial stability and growth potential. 

Airbus’ consolidated order intake increased to €186.5 billion in 2023, up from €82.5 billion in 2022. This increase was driven by a company-wide book-to-bill ratio of well over 1, which indicates that the company is generating more orders than it is fulfilling. However, this increase was partially offset by the weakening of the US dollar. 

The company also recorded a healthy increase in consolidated revenues for 2023, up 11 per cent to €65.4 billion from €58.8 billion in 2022. This was largely driven by the delivery of 735 commercial aircraft (a 10% increase over the previous year), including 68 A220s, 571 A320 Family, 32 A330s and 64 A350s.

Commercial aircraft revenues were up 15% for 2023, driven by the higher number of deliveries. In addition to the increase in aircraft deliveries, revenues from Airbus Helicopters remained stable at 346 units for the year, with a 4 per cent increase in revenues driven by the overall performance of the programmes and services.

Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space increased 2 percent, mainly driven by Military Air Systems and Connected Intelligence, offset by some updated Estimates at Completion of certain Space programmes. A total of 8 A400M military airlifters were delivered (2022: 10 aircraft).

In addition to the strong performance in revenues, Airbus also saw a significant increase in gross commercial aircraft orders in 2023, totalling 2,319 orders compared to 1,078 in the previous year. Net orders, after cancellations, reached 2,094, up from 820 in 2022. Airbus Helicopters also had a strong year, registering a total of 393 net orders in 2023, well above the 362 units registered in 2022. Airbus Defence and Space’s order intake by value in 2023 increased by 15 per cent to €15.7 billion, up from €13.7 billion in 2022.

Airbus’ consolidated EBIT Adjusted, an alternative performance measure used by the company to measure its financial performance, was €5,838 million in 2023. This represents an increase of €211 million compared to the €5,627 million reported in 2022. 

The EBIT Adjusted for Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities increased to €4,818 million in 2023, up from €4,600 million in 2022.The 2022 results were impacted by non-recurring items related to retirement obligations and compliance-related topics, but also by the impact of sanctions against Russia in the first half of the year. 

The A220 ramp-up continues towards a monthly production rate of 14 aircraft in 2026, with a focus on the programme’s industrial maturity and financial performance. On the A320 Family programme, production is progressing well towards the previously announced rate of 75 aircraft per month in 2026. 

In 2023, construction of the second A320 Final Assembly capacities in Tianjin (China) and Mobile (US) commenced and the new A320 Family Final Assembly Line in Toulouse delivered its first aircraft in December. The first customer A321XLR entered into the Final Assembly Line in December, with entry-into-service for the aircraft type expected to take place in Q3 2024. On widebody aircraft, the Company continues towards a monthly rate of four aircrafts for the A330 in 2024 and rate 10 in 2026 for the A350.

Airbus Helicopters’ EBIT Adjusted increased to € 735 million (2022: € 639 million), reflecting the strong performance across programmes and services. FY 2022 also included net positive non-recurring elements.

The EBIT Adjusted for Airbus Defence and Space decreased to €229 million in 2023, down from €384 million in 2022. This decrease was driven by updates to estimates for certain space programmes, which resulted in charges of €0.6 billion. However, this was partially offset by the performance of the rest of the business. In 2022, there were some non-recurring items that contributed to the higher EBIT Adjusted, including the loss of two Pleiades Neo satellites.

Airbus’ total self-financed research and development (R&D) expenses for 2023 amounted to €3,257 million, an increase of €178 million compared to 2022. On a reported basis, the company’s earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) in 2023 was €4,603 million, down from €5,325 million in 2022,including net Adjustments of € -1,235 million.

These Adjustments comprised:

• € -1,030 million related to the dollar working capital mismatch and balance sheet revaluation, of which € -224 million were in Q4. This mainly reflects the phasing impact arising from the difference between transaction date and delivery date;
• € -89 million related to the Aerostructures transformation, of which € -32 million were in Q4;
• € -41 million related to the A400M programme, of which € -41 million were in Q4;
• € -75 million of other costs including compliance, of which € -19 million were in Q4.

The company’s financial result for 2023 was €166 million, compared to a loss of €250 million in 2022. This positive financial result was driven by a positive impact from the revaluation of certain equity investments. Consolidated net income for 2023 stood at €3,789 million, down from €4,247 million in 2022, while earnings per share were €4.80 in 2023, down from €5.40 in 2022.

Airbus’ consolidated free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and customer financing for 2023 was €4,386 million, down from €4,680 million in 2022. The decrease in free cash flow was driven by lower commercial aircraft deliveries and higher capital expenditures related to product development and production ramp-up.

At the end of 2023, Airbus had a gross cash position of €25.3 billion, an increase of €1.7 billion from the €23.6 billion at the end of 2022. The company’s consolidated net cash position also increased to €10.7 billion at the end of 2023, compared to €9.4 billion at the end of 2022.

The company’s consolidated free cash flow of €3,885 million for 2023 was €439 million lower than the prior year’s €4,324 million. The decrease was mainly due to €65 million of outflows related to M&A activities and €436 million of customer financing activities.

At its next Annual General Meeting on April 10, 2024, the company’s Board of Directors intends to propose a dividend of €1.80 per share for 2023, the same level as the previous year. In addition, the Board is proposing a special dividend of €1.00 per share, bringing the total dividend to €2.80 per share. The proposed dividend payment date is April 18, 2024.

Outlook

As the basis for its 2024 guidance, the Company assumes no additional disruptions to the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, the Company’s internal operations, and its ability to deliver products and services.

For 2024, Airbus expects to achieve the following targets, all on a before M&A basis:

Around 800 commercial aircraft deliveries;

EBIT Adjusted between €6.5 billion and €7.0 billion;

Free cash flow before customer financing(3) of around €4.0 billion.

Commenting on the company’s financial performance,Guillaume Faury, Airbus chief executive officer, said the company recorded strong order intake across all its businesses and delivered on its commitments for 2023. 

Faury also described the record as 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,” he added.