Airbus group: The aircraft manufacturer Airbus narrowly missed its delivery target in 2024

(BFM Bourse) – The aeronautics and defense group announced that it had delivered a total of 766 aircraft for last year. Its objective was set at “around” 770 devices.

End of the (slight) suspense for Airbus. The aeronautics and defense group announced this Thursday, January 9, its deliveries for 2024.

Tension rose at the end of last year, as the aircraft manufacturer was behind schedule to meet its target of 770 aircraft delivered. At the end of November, the group was only at 643 units.

Ultimately, Airbus announced that it had delivered a total of 766 aircraft over the whole of 2024, with 123 aircraft in the month of December alone.

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Logistical tensions

Indiscretions had previously been reported by the Reuters and Bloomberg news agencies. The first indicated that the aircraft manufacturer had reached “a little more” than 765 deliveries while the second had mentioned a figure of “around” 760 aircraft.

Airbus suffered this year from supply problems for its engines, in particular, but also in aerostructures (fuselage, wings, nacelles) and interior equipment.

These problems, coupled with the difficulties of its defense and space division, led the company to issue a heavy profit warning in June. The company then lowered its delivery target to 770 aircraft compared to 800 previously.

Remember that the progress of Airbus deliveries is closely monitored by the market because it is when a customer receives their plane in due form that they make the bulk of the payment. The trajectory of the group’s device deliveries thus gives an indication of its cash generation.

See you in February

Since 2021, Airbus has been leading a delicate ramp-up in the production of its aircraft, particularly in its single-aisle aircraft, with its flagship family of aircraft, the A320 neo. The company plans to achieve a monthly production rate of 75 aircraft of this family in 2027, an objective that the group initially planned to achieve in 2025.

Airbus will publish its annual results on February 20. The aeronautics group should then communicate its outlook, for 2025, for adjusted operating profit, cash generation, as well as its new delivery objective.

Jefferies estimates that the group could evoke a target ranging from 810 to 820 aircraft, Bank of America is more cautious, retaining a range of 800 to 810 aircraft. The American bank reiterated its purchase recommendation on Airbus last week, judging that tensions on its supply chain should ease, particularly on engines, in 2025.

The establishment also noted that the group could be one of the big winners from the appreciation of the dollar (a gain which could amount to hundreds of millions of euros). The company sells its planes in dollars but establishes its accounts in euros.

Julien Marion – ©2025 BFM Bourse