European planemaker Airbus today signalled the start of a downward cycle in production as recession curbs jetliner demand, saying deliveries could fall and orders are set to tumble in 2009.
The forecasts came as Airbus held the top spot in global airliner production for the sixth year running in 2008 with a 7 per cent rise in reported deliveries to a record 483 planes.
In a widely expected shift, Airbus also confirmed it had outsold Boeing in 2008 with net orders for 777 planes, own 42 per cent from the previous year, though figures from both planemakers show the economy halting a three-year aviation boom.
Airbus said it expected to sell 300 to 400 planes in 2009 before any cancellations from airlines struggling to raise cash. "It will be a very soft year," sales chief John Leahy said. Shares in parent EADS rose 1.2 per cent.
Airbus sold planes worth $100 billion in 2008, giving it a market share of 54 per cent and lifting its backlog to 3,715 jets - just one more than rival Boeing, whose sales had been expected to cool after it smashed an industry record in 2007.
Unadjusted Airbus orders before cancellations or conversions between its various models reached 900 planes in 2008.
Asked if Airbus was profitable last year, Chief Executive Tom Enders said: "I would say so, yes." Parent EADS will give full results in March.
Boeing's 2008 production was hit by a 58-day machinists' strike with deliveries falling 15 per cent to 375 planes. Boeing sold 662 aircraft, down 53 per cent, it said last week.
The latest figures mean global large jetliner production shared by the two companies fell 4 per cent to 858 planes last year. Analysts say steeper falls may be necessary as airlines cancel or defer orders to cope with the financial rout.
Airbus's prediction that it will sell fewer planes than it makes in 2009 means it will be the first year either big jetmaker has failed to replenish its backlog since 2003.
Enders said he expected the level of deliveries to be in the "same ballpark" as the 2008 record, but noted Airbus had drawn up contingency plans to cut output if necessary.