Sharjah 24 – AFP: European aircraft giant Airbus said Wednesday that net profit more than tripled in the first quarter to 1.2 billion euros, despite the impact of sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
The company also indicated its optimism for the future, saying it aimed to produce 75 of its A320 aircraft each month by 2025, up from 45 per month at the end of 2021.
The first-quarter results reflect "a solid performance across our commercial aircraft, helicopter and defence businesses", said a company statement.
"Our 2022 guidance is unchanged, even though the risk profile for the rest of the year has become more challenging due to the complex geopolitical and economic environment," said chief executive Guillaume Faury.
The results confirm the company's recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic hit the air travel industry hard in 2020.
At that time, Airbus drastically reduced production and cut nearly 10,000 jobs as Covid spread around the world.