Airbus profit plunges 49% in Q1

paris — Airbus on Wednesday posted a 49 per cent slump in firstquarter core profit and called for an industry-wide campaign to restore confidence in flying after the coronavirus pandemic triggered the “gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known”.

Europe’s largest aerospace group also highlighted plans to save cash after gushing €8 billion in the first quarter, including a record €3.6 billion fine to settle corruption investigations in Britain, France and the United States.

“All nature of costs are now being reviewed,” CEO Guillaume

Faury told analysts. Airbus has been unable to deliver more than a handful of aircraft since Europewide lockdowns began in midMarch and Faury said he expected similar difficulties in the second quarter before a clearer picture emerges in around June.

Chief financial officer Dominik Asam said he expected some recovery in the third quarter before returning “basically to a neutral situation where we don’t use cash anymore” in the fourth.

AirAsia to stop taking deliveries

Meanwhile, AirAsia Group, one of

Europe’s top five corporate export customers, will stop taking deliveries of Airbus jets this year and review its remaining orders as the coronavirus crisis heaps pressure on the Malaysian carrier.

The comment from Asia’s largest budget airline on Wednesday is the latest sign of pandemic-induced havoc, further denting growth in South East Asian jetliner demand.

After years of expansion, AirAsia expects to end 2020 with 242 aircraft in its fleet, down one from last year, executive chairman Kamarudin Meranun said in a statement. —