European aerospace company EADS, which owns Airbus, has reported a 93% drop in net profits in the first half of 2007 to €71m. This compared with just over €1 billion a year earlier.
It put the losses down to heavy provisions for restructuring at plane maker Airbus and delays at helicopter arm Eurocopter.
EADS confirmed its forecasts for 2007, saying it expected its operating profit to be stable at the 2006 figure of €399m.
Profits were weighed down by a €688m provision for restructuring Airbus and for launching the A350 XWB long haul aircraft and a €105m provision at Eurocopter, due to delays in making the NH90 military helicopter.
Two other EADS programmes have suffered delays, the A380 superjumbo and the A400M military plane.
Group sales dropped by 3% to €18.5 billion, while orders jumped fivefold in the first six months of the year to €70 billion, thanks to orders announced by Airbus at the Paris air show in June.
In the first half, Airbus made an operating profit of €19m, against €1.5 billion a year earlier, on 2% lower turnover of €12.9 billion.
