Airbus Records €500 Million First Quarter Loss

An Airbus A380 in Emirates livery

Airbus announced financial results for the first quarter of 2020.

The company posted a €481 million ($521.9 million) loss compared to net income of €43 million in the same period in 2019, attributing the results to the global shutdown of the commercial aviation industry. Its adjusted first-quarter operating profit fell 49% to €281 million as revenue dropped 15% to €10.63 billion.

Airbus said first-quarter adjusted operating profit fell 49% to 281 million euros ($304.7 million) as revenue dropped 15% to 10.631 billion euros,

Guillaume Faury, the company’s CEO, warned of the “gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known.”

“The crisis is really unprecedented,” he said on an earnings call. “It’s hitting all regions of the globe and all industries at the same time so the role of governments is obviously key. One of the major risks for us is suppliers [sic] going bust.”

The company said it had expanded its layoffs, and had furloughed 3,200 workers in Britain after putting 3,000 workers on government-backed partial unemployment plans in France. Faury said thousands of German staff could also be affected.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)