Airbus delivers 611 commercial jets in 2021; up 8pc

Airbus said it delivered a total of 611 commercial aircraft during 2021 as against 566 in the previous year, marking an increase of 7.95 per cent. The deliveries comprised 50 A220s, 483 A320 Family, 18 A330s(1), 55 A350s and 5 A380s. Gross commercial aircraft orders totaled 771 (2020: 383 aircraft) with net orders of 507 aircraft after cancellations (2020: 268 aircraft). Included were the first A350 freighter orders, confirming customer demand for this new program. The order backlog was 7,082 commercial aircraft on December 31, 2021 (end 2020: 7,184 aircraft).

Consolidated order intake by value increased to €62.0 billion (2020: €33.3 billion) with the consolidated order book valued at € 398 billion on 31 December 2021 (year-end 2020: € 373 billion). Revenues generated by Airbus’ commercial aircraft activities increased 6 percent, largely reflecting the higher deliveries compared to 2020. Consolidated revenues increased 4 per cent to €52.1 billion (2020: €49.9 billion), mainly reflecting the higher number of commercial aircraft deliveries, partially offset by less favorable foreign exchange rates.

“2021 was a year of transition, where our attention shifted from navigating the pandemic towards recovery and growth. Thanks to the resilience and efforts of our teams, customers and suppliers, we delivered remarkable full-year results,” said Guillaume Faury, Airbus Chief Executive Officer.

“The strong financials reflect the higher number of commercial aircraft deliveries, the good performance of our Helicopters and Defence and Space businesses as well as our efforts on cost containment and competitiveness. Record net income and our efforts to strengthen the net cash position underpin our proposal to reintroduce dividend payments going forward. At the same time, we continue to invest in our strategic priorities and in the transformation of our company.”