European aerospace giant EADS has said it plunged into the red last year because of higher than expected costs for its A400M military transport project and A380 superjumbo jet.
EADS released its results just hours after it withdrew from a joint bid with US partner Northrop Grumman to build an aerial refuelling tanker plane for the US Air Force.
US rival Boeing was poised to win the $35 billion contract after EADS pulled out of the bidding, objecting vigorously that the terms of the latest tender had been skewed by US authorities in favour of Boeing.
A European Commission statement said the EU 'would be extremely concerned if it were to emerge that the terms of tender were such as to inhibit open competition for the contract'. The commission 'will be following further developments in this case very closely,' it warned.
EADS posted a 2009 net loss of €763m after making a net profit of €1.57 billion the previous year.
EADS was hit by a €1.8 billion provision for the much-delayed A400M, but the company struck a deal with seven NATO customers on Friday to share the burden of big unexpected cost over-runs in developing the highly innovative aircraft.
'Thanks to the agreement between the customer nations and EADS this programme is now back on track,' EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said in a statement.
The company also took a €240m charge last year because of difficulties stepping up production of the A380 double-deck airliner. EADS said it would not pay a dividend to shareholders for 2009 owing to the losses.
It was cautious in its outlook for 2010. The group said it expected 'roughly stable' sales this year after a turnover of €42.8 billion in 2009. It also forecast earnings before interest and tax of €1 billion after an EBIT loss of €322m last year.
The company said it expects to receive gross orders for between 250 and 300 aircraft in 2010. It said it would deliver at most the same number of planes as in 2009, when it delivered a record 498 aircraft to airlines.
The entire A400M project, which was meant to show Europe's independence from US defence suppliers and employs 10,000 people, had been under threat after years of delays led several countries to question its viability.
But some governments, particularly France - which is home to the main Airbus plant and is particularly attached to the idea of shared European defence projects - pushed hard for a solution. The seven governments agreed on Friday to give EADS another €3.5 billion to save the military transport project.
