Airbus profit rises, increases plane output

[TOULOUSE, France] Airbus announced a hike in jetliner production as it unveiled higher 2013 profits, clouded by cautious forecasts for the coming year and fresh charges for its newest A350 model.

Europe's largest aerospace group, previously known as EADS, said that it would raise output of its A320 family of small jets to 46 aircraft a month by the second quarter of 2016 from 42 now, echoing plans by rival Boeing to hit 47 a month by 2017.

Planemakers are producing a passenger plane every few hours after a record surge in demand for latest fuel economies, pointing to rising revenues from mid-decade but putting unprecedented demands on a global network of suppliers.

For this year, parent Airbus Group forecast flat revenues and "moderate" growth in operating margin, which it still expects to reach 7-8 per cent in 2015 compa…