Airbus parent EADS is poised to reveal a dramatic rise in profitability, having netted more than €2.1 billion ($2.8 billion) for shareholders last year, up from little more than €1 billion in 2011 and only €533 million in 2010.
EADS is unable to comment yet on 2012 performance, but revenue has risen steadily for several years to €49.1 billion in 2011, and Airbus in 2012 delivered a record 588 aircraft. However, profitability has been low and Louis Gallois, who retired in 2012 as chief executive, had made improvement a priority. Although the group's "Vision 2020" bid to reduce its reliance on Airbus - historically accounting for some two-thirds of sales - has been thwarted by a booming civil aircraft market, analysts have praised cost reduction efforts.
EADS itself is unlikely to pursue another mega-merger soon, but its dalliance with BAE has surely focused minds in other European boardrooms; transformative deals involving big players Safran, Thales and Finmeccanica have been discussed for years and may now look timely.
flightglobal
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