Airbus cuts delivery target after jet issues but profit outlook held firm

By Dimitri Rhodes and Tim Hepher

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Airbus cut its full-year commercial delivery target by 4% to around 790 jets on Wednesday but maintained its financial goals, sending its shares bouncing higher as the European planemaker cleared the air over its latest industrial setback.

The decision to act came a day after CEO Guillaume Faury confirmed "weak" November deliveries due to a fuselage quality problem and told Reuters that Airbus would decide on the impact for the rest of the year "in the hours and days" to come.

Airbus shares rose more than 3%, after falling nearly 7% over the past two sessions. The company had previously targeted around 820 deliveries for 2025, up 7% from last year,

Analysts said the decision to maintain financial goals illustrated the profitability of Airbus' main cash cow, the A320, which recently overtook the Boeing 737 as the industry's most-delivered model, and support from Defence and Helicopters.

Reuters first reported the problem with fuselages on Monday, on the heels of an emergency recall of thousands of A320s for a software change related to solar radiation.

The problem affects the thickness of some fuselage panels machined by one of two outside suppliers but is not being treated as an immediate safety issue because the parts can still cope with more than the maximum stresses they could meet.

However, few airlines are willing to take on the risk of costly repairs to exclude the possibility of decompression if the plane is further damaged in service, and Airbus has had to hit the brakes on deliveries to begin rapid inspections.

In all, 628 airplanes are due to be inspected including 168 in service and industry sources said earlier this week that the flaw had been found on several dozen planes in production. Airbus has said only a portion of planes will need more work.

The flaw mainly affects the front of the plane around the passenger door but engineers have also found some flaws at the back of the plane, according to a presentation seen by Reuters.

The Air Current reported that each repair, which involves removing and replacing panels, would take three to five weeks.

While enjoying strong demand and filling a gap left by back-to-back crises at Boeing, Airbus has been struggling to meet its industrial targets as first engines, then seats, and now its core manufacturing supply chain had delays or glitches.

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie noted that engine delays, which have weighed on Airbus delivery plans for more than a year, were not mentioned in the statement revising the target.

Boeing, meanwhile, is finally emerging from a series of crises with its 737 MAX jet and said on Tuesday it expected positive cash flow in 2026, sending its shares up 10%. It is winning more sales this year but still lags its European rival on deliveries.

The affected parts at Airbus have the wrong thickness following a process of stretching and milling carried out by Seville-based Sofitec Aero, which did not respond to requests for comment.

Faury confirmed on Tuesday that the fuselage panel problem had hit deliveries in November.

Industry sources told Reuters that Airbus delivered 72 aircraft that month, lower than expected. It is due to publish monthly data on Friday.

Airbus said its financial goals for the year were unchanged. It targets adjusted operating income around 7.0 billion euros ($8.2 billion) and free cash flow around 4.5 billion euros.

Analysts said the decision to hold the financial targets despite lower deliveries suggests that the company had been heading for a beat against forecasts for the full year.

Citi analysts estimated the lower deliveries would have hit profit by 400 million to 450 million euros and cash by 600 million euros.

($1 = 0.8590 euros)

(Additional reporting by Andrei Khalip. Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Mark Potter)