Turbulent times for Airbus maker as it posts 87m loss

Published on Monday 16 November 2009 20:20

AIRBUS parent company EADS has plunged to its first loss in two years, amid lingering uncertainty over major aircraft programmes.

It lost 87 million (78m) between July and September, compared with a profit of 679m a year earlier. The firm is being squeezed by a weaker dollar, as its orders are in dollars, but most of its costs are in euros.

EADS said "ongoing uncertainty" over its A380 super jumbo and A400M military carrier aircraft programme left it unable to forecast the extent of the damage to full-year results.

It expects underlying earnings of about 2 billion this year but has already racked up 2.4bn in charges on the A400M project. The scheme has been delayed by rising costs and technical problems, prompting the South African government to cancel its order for eight aircraft. EADS said it was in the "difficult last phase" of negotiations with other customers, adding: "The full financial consequences of the delays will only be known once the negotiations are finalised."

The group employs almost 6,200 staff in Broughton, Flintshire, to make the wings of the A380, as well as a further 3,600 at Filton, near Bristol.

The figures came as the aerospace industry gathered for the Dubai air show, which began in the Gulf state on Sunday.