Airbus delivers 62 more planes, chasing challenging full-year target

Paris: Airbus delivered 62 jets in October to bring this year's total to 559, the company said on Thursday, as it chases an increasingly challenging year-end target.

The latest deliveries leave Airbus with more than 200 more to deliver to reach an annual goal of "around" 770 planes, revised down from 800 in July after supply chain problems.

Reuters reported last week that Airbus had delivered a little more than 60 planes in October.

Analysts have said Airbus may be able to deliver as few as 750 planes this year without having to announce a new cut, but the company is widely expected to lean on the flexibility provided by the word "around" in its guidance, which it reiterated last week.

Much depends on the availability of engines and the planemaker's ability to repeat the type of end-of-year sprint typically seen before the pandemic, but this time with a supply chain that has been weakened by parts and labour shortages.

"While it is clearly possible that Airbus might pull something out of the bag ... it is increasingly feeling to us as though 750 deliveries, the bottom end of Airbus’s new range, would be a good result," said Agency Partners analyst Sash Tusa.

"We would not rule out another guidance cut towards the end of November if management sees no signs of improvement by then."

Jefferies analyst Chloe Lemarie said that underlying production looked solid, going by the number of test flights.

"We thus continue to expect the group to post delivery performance close to the guided 770," she said.

Airbus posted 82 orders in October, including 60 jets sold to Riyadh Air last week, and said it had won 749 orders this year, or a net total of 730 after cancellations.