Advertisement

Airbus Group first-half core profit up, studies Dassault stake sale

Airbus Group first-half core profit up, studies Dassault stake sale

PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus Group on Wednesday reported first-half underlying operating profit up 10 percent and reaffirmed its forecasts for the year, seeking to dampen concerns among some investors about the health of the commercial jetliner market.

The Franco-German group also said it continued to study options for selling its 46 percent stake in French planemaker Dassault Aviation , inherited from one of the mergers that led to the creation of Europe's largest aerospace company.

Its basic 2015 business outlook remained unchanged before the cost of developing a new version of the A330 passenger jet announced at this month's Farnborough Airshow.

Launching the revamped version of its most profitable wide-bodied jetliner at the UK event, Airbus said its development costs would trim 0.7 percentage points off its 2015 return-on-sales target of 7-8 percent.

Shares in the group have fallen around 8 percent since the announcement on fears that the commercial aerospace cycle may be weakening and signs that Airbus may have to cut output of the A330 even after equipping it with newer engines to boost sales.

Chief Executive Tom Enders said in a statement the air show had shown "good commercial order momentum".

Airbus said its A350 jetliner was on track but there were delays in adding military capabilities to its A400M airlifter.

In the first half, core operating profit rose 9.6 percent to 1.769 billion euros (1.4 billion pounds) but this included a capital gain of 60 million euros on the sale of its Paris headquarters building, following the move of its headquarters to Toulouse, France.

Half-year revenues rose six percent to 27.2 billion euros, led by increased deliveries of commercial jets and helicopters, but pared by a 1 percent fall in the defence and space business, which is undergoing restructuring.

For the second quarter, Airbus Group reported revenues of 14.552 billion euros and operating profit of 1.12 billion. Analysts were on average expecting operating profit of 940 million euros and revenues of 14.234 billion for the quarter, according to a Reuters survey.

Airbus Group shares closed at 43.685 euros, valuing the company at 34.2 billion euros. They have fallen 22 percent so far this year, while the Paris CAC40 <.FCHI> blue-chip index has gained 1.6 percent.


(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan and Mark John)