12 Nov 10. EADS’ (stock exchange symbol: EAD) macroeconomic and commercial environment continues to improve thanks to increasing aircraft demand. Institutional markets including helicopters, defence and public budgets have to be monitored. At the end of September, the order intake(4) of € 57.7bn mirrors the improved momentum in commercial aviation. EADS’ order book of more than € 426bn provides a solid platform for future deliveries. EADS’ revenues amount to € 31.6bn. The EBIT* before one-off of € 0.8bn benefited from the underlying
performance in Airbus legacy programmes and other core business activities. EBIT* amounted to € 784 m. The Net Cash position of € 10.3bn is better than expected thanks to better cash performance and favourable phasing. It is a key asset to foster future growth.
“The commercial aviation sector continues its ascent which starts to be reflected in the nine-month results. Within this improving environment, the A380 production is visibly progressing and manufacturing of the A350 has begun. I want to express our gratitude to the A400M Customer Nations who have supported us in reaching an agreement”, said Louis Gallois, CEO of EADS. “At the same time, budget reviews in our home countries are not yet fully completed; we therefore remain attentive to challenges which could arise for our business with government customers. Looking forward, beyond 2011 the upturn in the commercial aircraft business should drive the profitability improvement of the Group. In the mid-term, at the current exchange rates, Airbus should significantly improve its underlying profitability thanks to better volume, pricing and further economic improvement of the A380 performance.”
In the first nine months, EADS’ revenues increased to € 31.6bn
(9m 2009: € 29.7bn) thanks to growth from both volume and mix effects across core businesses. Physical deliveries remained at a high level with
380 aircraft at Airbus Commercial, 367 helicopters at Eurocopter and the
38th consecutive successful Ariane 5 launch. The percentage-of-completion methodology was resumed on the A400M programme. Until the end of
September, based on the allocation of internal milestones, around
€500m in revenues were booked on the programme. The Customer Nations and EADS have concluded negotiations on the overall A400M discussions. The FY 2009 A400M provision calculation remains valid. Government payments are more back-loaded than expected after the signature of the principle agreement in March 2010. Negotiations on the export levy facility (ELF) scheme are expected to be finalised before the end of the year. Once parliamentary approvals are obtained, the agreement will be binding. In the meantime, the A400M flight test programme is progressing better than expected with the fourth aircraft due to join the flight test campaign before year-end.
EBIT* before one-off (adjusted EBIT*) – an indicator capturing the underlying business margin by excluding non-recurring charges or profits caused by movements in provisions or foreign exchange impacts – stood at
€0.8bn (9m 2009: €1.7bn) for EADS and around €0.3bn for Airbus. It benefited from good underlying performance of Airbus legacy programmes and core business activities in the other Divisions. As expected, A380 continues to weigh significantly on the underlying performance.
Compared to the first nine months of 2009, EBIT* before one-off was mainly weighed down by the deterioration of hedge rates and higher investment in Research & Development.
EADS’ reported EBIT* stood at € 784m (9m 2009: € 1,089m).
Net Income amounted to €198m (9m 2009: €291m), or earnings
per share of €0.24 (earnings per share 9m 2009: €0.36). The finance result amounts to € -452m (9m 2009: €-615 m). The interest result of
€-176m (9m 2009: €-89m) reflects the decline in interest rates on the financial markets. The other financial result amounts to €-276m
(9m 2009: €-526m). The improvement year-on-year is due to a pos