Airbus reports a drop in first-quarter profit, sales on slow deliveries

Airbus SE reported a drop in first-quarter profit as the European planemaker paid a price for stubborn gaps in its supply chain that have held back jet deliveries.

Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes fell to €773 million ($854 million) from €1.26 billion in the first three months of 2022, Airbus said in a statement. Sales dipped to €11.8 billion from €12 billion. The manufacturer stood by its full-year targets for cash flow and aircraft deliveries, though the company pushed back the entry into service date of its A350 freighter version by a year to 2026.

The world’s largest planemaker has struggled to meet soaring demand for aircraft as travel rebounds from the Covid-19 pandemic.