Airbus has posted a smaller than expected 39% drop in first quarter core earnings on lower airplane deliveries and a partial recovery in the dollar, offset by strong helicopters.
The world's largest planemaker reaffirmed production and financial targets, but said the first deployment of a new freighter version of its A350 jetliner would slip into 2026.
Airbus posted adjusted quarterly operating earnings of 773 million euros as revenues dipped 2% to 11.763 billion euros.
With aerospace working in dollars, Airbus hedges about half of its revenues but remains exposed to currency fluctuations between the point at which it takes progress payments and a jet's delivery, when its euro-based accounting is finalised.
Analysts were on average expecting adjusted operating profit, which softens such fluctuations to help gauge the underlying businesses from planes and rockets to helicopters and fighters, of 736 million euros on revenues of 11.37 billion.
Underlying free cashflow slid to a negative 889 million euros in the first quarter, weighed by lower jet deliveries, from a positive inflow of 213 million euros a year earlier.
Chief Executive Gullaume Faury said in a statement that Europe's rival to Boeing continued to face "persistent tensions in the supply chain," resulting in deliveries once again being forecast to pile up towards the end of the year.
