Leeham News and Analysis
There's more to real news than a news release.
Leeham News and Analysis
- Airbus 1Q2025 results: So far, so good, but US tariffs make future results unpredictable May 1, 2025
- Does an Airbus A220-500 need a new wing and engines? May 1, 2025
- Teamsters, Boeing have a new contract April 29, 2025
- Boeing wants to remarket China’s airplanes. It’s costly and time consuming. April 28, 2025
- Bjorn’s Corner: Air Transport’s route to 2050. Part 19. April 25, 2025
Airbus 1Q2025 results: So far, so good, but US tariffs make future results unpredictable
May 1, 2025, © Leeham News in Toulouse: Airbus CEO Guillame Faury and CFO Thomas Toepfer presented the Airbus 1Q2025 results yesterday. All Airbus divisions performed to plan, producing a group EBIT Adjusted of 0.6bn Euro.
The company delivered 136 aircraft, which was to plan. The lower deliveries than last year (142) were due to CFM’s extra delivery efforts in 4Q2024, leading to fewer LEAP deliveries for 1Q2025. EBIT at €0.5bn and Free Cash Flow at -€0.3bn were also as planned.
The big unknown going forward is the effect of the US tariffs and the trade war it has caused. Airbus CEO, Guillaume Faury, said, “Airbus will not cover tariffs applied to Airbus aircraft that are imported to the US for US customers (read A330 and A350). For A220s and A320s produced in Mobile for US customers, tariffs apply for parts that must be imported to produce these aircraft. The effects are here less clear as the tariff situation can change at any time”.
Group-level results
Revenue for 1Q2025 was €13.5bn (€12.8bn 1Q2024), and EBIT Adjusted (mapping operational achievements) was €0.63bn (€0.58bn 1Q2024). Total charges were -€151m, mainly in Defense & Space for workforce adjustment.
The free cash flow for 1Q2025 was -€0.3bn (-€1.8bn). The net cash position at the end of 1Q2025 was €11.0bn, with total liquidity at €26bn.
Guidance for 2025 was unchanged at:
- Airbus targets 820 commercial aircraft deliveries.
- Airbus expects an EBIT Adjusted of €7.0bn.
- Free Cash Flow of €4.5bn.
Commercial aircraft
Commercial aircraft had net orders of 204 aircraft (170). The backlog is now at 8,726 aircraft. Of the 136 (142) delivered aircraft, 106 were A321/A320, 17 A220, 9 A350, and 4 A330.
The 2027 targeted delivery rate for the A320 family is still 75. The first half of 2025’s deliveries are impacted by CFM LEAp deliveries, as it depleted its delivery capacity to help Airbus with 4Q2024. Delivery catch-up to the rate will be mid-year.
The ramp-up in rate of the A220 and A350 is threatened by the problems at Spirit Aerosystems, where a takeover agreement has now been concluded. Airbus will receive $439m to compensate for losses caused by the takeover. The compensation will keep Airbus loss-free for 2025, but it will cost “a mid-three-digit million sum” during 2026 and 2027, according to the Airbus CFO Thomas Toepfer.
Airbus maintains the targeted delivery rate of 12 A350 deliveries per month by 2028 and 14 for A220 by 2026. The A330neo is at four per month, where it will remain.
Helicopters
The Airbus helicopter had a good 1Q2025, with delivery and services revenue of €1.6bn (€1.5bn) and EBIT of €78m (€ 71 m).
Defense and Space
Defense and Space had a solid 1Q2025 with increased orders and revenue for Air Power. Discussions with Thales and Leonardo regarding the Space segments are progressing to plan. Order intake was €2.6bn (€2.0 bn) with revenues at €2.7bn (€2.5bn). EBIT Adjusted was €77m (-€9m).
Airbus Redirects Tariff Costs to US Airlines
“Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury explained that while Airbus covers tariff costs for components shipped to its Mobile, Alabama assembly facility, the company will not absorb import duties for aircraft delivered directly from Europe to U.S. customers”
“Consolidated free cash flow before customer financing was € -310 million (Q1 2024: € -1,791 million), reflecting the planned inventory build up to support the ramp-up and the commercial momentum across the Company. Consolidated free cash flow totalled € -296 million (Q1 2024: € -1,799 million). The gross cash position stood at € 26.1 billion at the end of March 2025 (year-end 2024: € 26.9 billion), with a consolidated net cash position of € 11.0 billion (year-end 2024: € 11.8 billion).”
https://www.airbus.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-04-airbus-reports-first-quarter-q1-2025-results_08f16d
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Negative cashflow of €310M due to constructive inventory build-up…as opposed to BA’s destructive burn of $2.3B on ongoing inefficiencies, including $700M on loan interest 🙈
Commercial aircraft figures:
AB
136 frames delivered
€9.5B revenue ($10.24B)
€514M EBIT ($581M)
Average revenue per frame: $75.29M
Average EBIT per frame: $3.7M
BA
130 frames delivered
$8.147B revenue
$2.93B unit accounting *loss* ($537M declared *loss* with program accounting).
$2.222 derived EBIT *loss* (all interest payment assigned to BCA, for ease of calculation).
Average revenue per frame: $62.67M
Average derived EBIT per frame: $17M *loss*.
And there are still commenters who just can’t believe that BA has been pricing its planes at loss-making levels…🙈
https://investors.boeing.com/investors/news/press-release-details/2025/Boeing-Reports-First-Quarter-Results/default.aspx
+1
Also notable is that the A330neo is up slightly, from three
planes per month to four.
bit by bit.
Methinks the rate will be climbing above 4 in the medium term…especially if China orders 100 of them.
Likely.
Even more interestingly:
Of BA’s 130 deliveries, 25 were widebodies.
Of AB’s 136 deliveries, only 13 were widebodies.
And, yet, AB *still* managed a higher average revenue per frame than BA.
Also, AB had 17 A220s in the mix, which are relatively cheap, and with a low earnings margin.
#BA_Selling_At_A_Loss 🙈
BA will make it up in volume, bro.
😉
Hello Bjorn, my understanding is that the A321XLRs are assembled in Europe. Wouldn’t upcoming deliveries to US carriers (American, Jetblue, United) also be subject to tariffs, assuming the planes are “permanently imported” to the USA?