Airbus profit rises on more commercial plane deliveries

[TOULOUSE] Airbus Group NV reported a 10 per cent increase in first-half earnings after its commercial plane unit delivered more commercial aircraft.

Earnings before interest, tax and one-time items rose to 1.77 billion euros (S$2.95 billion) from 1.61 billion euros a year earlier, the Toulouse, France-based company said. Airbus reiterated a target of "moderate return on sales growth" for this year with net commercial orders coming in above the level of deliveries.

The planemaker aims to deliver its first A350 wide-body model to customer Qatar Airlines Ltd before year-end. New orders, estimated by Airbus in January in excess of 630 planes for the year, are set to top that goal, after the manufacturer left the Farnborough Air Show this month with 648 net orders already in hand and commitments not yet firmed up for several hundred planes.