Airbus full year results miss expectations but hikes dividend as chief executive Tom Enders hails a “solid performance”
Civil aviation and defence company Airbus has reported net profit rose by 15 per cent over the course of 2015 to €2.7bn (£2.1bn), while sales were up by six per cent to €64.5bn.
The numbers came in just below analyst expectations but Airbus still managed to eke out at dividend rise of eight per cent from 2014 to €1.30 per share.
Chief executive Tom Enders told reporters in London this morning the company saw no reason to believe that it would not meet its targets for 2016 and has “all the building blocks it needs to meet commitments”, though the market remains “very challenging”.
Enders dismissed questions from reporters over how the company would react to a British exit from the European Union, saying "it is up to the British people to decide", and it would not have a material affect on the business.
The plane maker said it expected deliveries of 650 aircraft in the coming year, up from 635 aircraft in 2015, and forecast a further rise in orders.
The company also said it will increase the production of its A330 aircraft back to seven a month in 2017, after a rebound in demand.
Andy Chambers, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said: “Airbus Group is positioned for stronger growth from 2017 as deliveries of the new programmes build and the new product introduction cycle starts to move in its favour.”
Airbus announced that it has its first new customer in two years for its A380. ANA Holdings of Japan has agreed to buy three of the world’s largest passenger jets, the A380 superjumbo jet, which retail at a list price of $428m each.