European Aeronautic, Defence & Space Co., the continent’s largest aerospace company, returned to profit in the third quarter as it delivered more Airbus A380 superjumbo airliners. It raised its full-year profit forecast.
Net income was 679 million euros ($865 million) compared with a 776 million-euro loss a year earlier, Paris- and Munich- based EADS said in a statement released by the German stock exchange. Last year’s loss included charges for delays of the A400M military transport plane.
The quarter’s profit beat the median 262 million-euro estimate of seven analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. Sales rose 6 percent to 9.7 billion euros. EADS said it will exceed its full-year forecast for earnings before interest and tax of 1.8 billion euros, based on its strong underlying performance.
EADS, the parent of Airbus SAS, is also Europe’s second- biggest defense company. Airbus contributes two-thirds of sales. That contrasts with BAE Systems Plc, the region’s biggest defense contractor, where sales are driven by the U.S. military market, and with Finmeccanica SpA of Italy, which draws a significant portion of revenue from military helicopter sales to the U.S. and Britain, fighter jets and military transport planes.
Source: Bloomberg
