Airbus Group hit by €1.4bn in charges in second quarter

Airbus Group took over €1.4 billion in fresh charges for its troubled A400M military airlifter and delayed A350 jetliner, but reaffirmed its targets as it posted lower quarterly earnings on Wednesday.

Delays in deliveries of another keenly awaited jet, the revamped A320neo jetliner, also weighed on Europe’s largest aerospace group, whose core profits fell 4 per cent in the second quarter.

Charges

Airbus Group posted €1.026 billion of charges for the A400M following gearbox problems and fuselage cracks and €385 million for the A350, whose deliveries have been held up by shortages of cabin equipment, triggering new penalty payments.

Core operating earnings before one-off items fell 4 per cent to €1.183 billion in the second quarter as revenue slipped 1 per cent to €16.572 billion. Analysts had on average predicted core earnings of €1.012 billion on revenue of €16.299 billion, according to a Reuters poll.