Airbus monthly deliveries fall, piling pressure on annual target

Airbus reported lower monthly deliveries late on Wednesday, putting its annual production target under pressure as supply chain struggles continue to plague the industry.

The European planemaker said it delivered 50 aircraft in September, down from 55 during the same period last year.

Airbus deliveries now total 497 in the year-to-date, out of its target of around 770 for the entire 2024 period. In June, the company cut its annual delivery goal from near 800, while also pushing back its timeline for ramping up production of its bestselling A320, a single-aisle jet.

The company said at the time it was facing “persistent specific supply chain issues mainly in engines, aerostructures and cabin equipment.” 

The monthly update showed 441 single-aisle and 56 widebody deliveries in the year so far, with top customers that included Delta and India’s IndiGo.

Airbus net orders came in at a record 2,094 in 2023, swelling its order book to 8,598. For September it picked up another 235 orders, taking the annual total to 648.

But production challenges and supply chain shortages across the whole aviation industry mean that manufacturers cannot get planes out as fast as they want. Airbus has a new model called the A321XLR, set to be the world’s longest-range single-aisle aircraft, due to launch customer Iberia in the coming months after numerous delays.

In its half-year results in July, Airbus reported a fall in net income to 825 million euros ($902 million) from 1.526 billion euros during the same period in the previous year, citing drags from its space business even as commercial aircraft deliveries pulled revenue 4% higher.

Analysts said that Airbus could still meet its annual delivery target but would need to boost activity in the final quarter.

Deutsche Bank’s Christophe Menard called September deliveries “lackluster” and noted a stalling in widebody aircraft, which include its A350 and A330 models.

“Reaching year end delivery guidance will be challenging, but not impossible,” Menard said in a note.

Analysts at Citi said a production pick-up in October would be crucial to hit that target.

“While the full year delivery target of 770 remains feasible and is our base case, recent low deliveries reduce the probability,” Charles Armitage and Sam Burgess said in a note, adding there was now a “reasonable chance” Airbus cuts its full-year target to 750-760 in its third quarter results at the end of the month.

“We note that this change makes virtually no difference to the long-term value of the shares – once the market looks beyond the near-term downside risk, we believe the shares will rerate,” they said.

While eager to renew their fleets with new, more fuel-efficient models, airlines are being stymied by the multitude of issues at Airbus rival Boeing. Along with production delays, the U.S. manufacturing juggernaut is tackling a labor dispute and intense regulatory and customer scrutiny in the continued fall-out from two fatal crashes and more recent in-flight issues involving its planes.

Boeing this week said it delivered 33 planes in September, up by six from the previous year. Its own order backlog totals 5,456.

Airbus shares were 0.5% higher at 12:30 p.m. London time.

— CNBC’s Leslie Josephs contributed to this article.