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Shares in Airbus tumbled more than 10 per cent on Tuesday after the world’s biggest plane maker was forced to cut its annual profit forecast as the disruptions to its supply chain worsened and it faced challenges in its space business.
Chief executive Guillaume Faury told analysts late on Monday that engine shortages were again hampering its production plans.
“Engines that have not been an issue in 2023 and at the beginning of 2024 are again becoming a significant issue,” said Faury. “That is a new situation that we were not expecting.”
Cabin parts were also in short supply, he added, as many airlines were refurbishing older aircraft given the challenge of securing new ones.
Shares in Airbus were down 11.5 per cent in early trading. The warning rattled the wider aerospace sector, with shares in engine maker Rolls-Royce falling 3 per cent and Melrose Industries’ shares declining 4 per cent.
As a result of the disruption, Airbus said it would deliver “around 770” aircraft this year, down from a previous target of “around 800”. The plane maker also pushed back its target to produce 75 a month of its best-selling A320 family of jets from 2026 to 2027.
Airbus has been beset over the past two years by supply chain constraints that have hampered its plans to increase output to meet resurgent demand from airlines following the pandemic.
It is the second time since 2022 that Airbus has pushed back its annual delivery goal. Faury had told an aerospace summit in Berlin earlier this month that he expected industry supply chain constraints to last for another two to three years. Airbus reports results for the half-year on July 30.
The company also said it would record a charge of about €900mn in the first six months of the year related to its space systems business.
The aerospace and defence group now expects adjusted earnings before interest and tax of €5.5bn this year, down from a previous forecast of as much as €7bn.
The warning came as Airbus nears an agreement with Spirit AeroSystems to take over the work the US-based supplier does for some of its programmes, notably on the A220 and A350 aircraft.
A deal will pave the way for Boeing to take over the bulk of Spirit, including its operations in Kansas.
Boeing has been in talks with Spirit since March as the US plane maker seeks to improve the supplier’s manufacturing processes after the mid-air blowout of a section of the main body of one of its 737 Max aircraft in January. Spirit supplies Boeing with the fuselages and both companies are undergoing an audit by the US’s aviation safety regulator.
This article has been amended since publication to state that Airbus will deliver about 770 aircraft this year
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