Airbus profit up
July 30, 2014Brisk business in its passenger jet division saw Airbus' second-quarter net profit surge by about a third to 696 million euros ($933 million) year-on-year.
The booming passenger aircraft and civil helicopter sector sent the company's turnover up by 7 percent to 14.55 billion euros, the firm said in its quarterly report on Wednesday.
Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said yield prospects for the whole of 2014 remained unchanged, with the company aiming for 2013-level turnover volumes.
Budgetary constraints
Enders warned, though, that yield targets of 7 to 8 percent for next year might be undercut owing to modernization costs for the A330 model.
Airbus' defense and space divisions had to put up with marginal profit dips, the company revealed in its report.
The defense segment was said to be the firm's biggest headache at present, with many European governments continuing their austerity course with a view to consolidating national budgets.
Enders had said earlier he was planning to cut 5,800 jobs in the segment globally, with 2,400 o them to be laid off in Germany.
hg/ng (dpa, Reuters)