Airbus proposes special dividend, reports strong FY earnings

Aerospace corporation Airbus declared a special dividend on Thursday as it detailed a strong set of full-year results, with order intake and adjusted underlying earnings both increasing in the twelve months ended 31 December.

Airbus proposed an unchanged regular dividend of €1.80 per share and added a special dividend of €1.00 per share, as net cash topped the €10.0bn threshold previously identified as a potential trigger for returning more cash to shareholders.

The move comes as the group revealed order intake increased to €186.5bn, up from €82.5bn in 2022, while revenues rose 11% year-on-year to €65.4bn as the group delivered 571 of its A320 aircraft. Adjusted EBIT related to Airbus' commercial aircraft activities increased to €4.81bn, up from €4.6bn last year, reflecting "higher deliveries and a more favourable hedge rate". EBIT for the full year was expected to come in at between €6.5bn and €7.0bn.

Looking forward, Airbus now expects to deliver 800 of its narrowbody A320 jets in 2024, as rival Boeing looks to recover from yet another major incident with its 737 Max 9 aircraft - when the tail fell off the vehicle during an Alaska Airlines flight in January.

Chief executive Guillaume Faury said: "In 2023 we recorded strong order intake across all our businesses and we delivered on our commitments. This was a significant achievement given the complexity of the operating environment.

"We will continue to invest in our global industrial system while progressing on our transformation and decarbonisation journey. Our dividend proposals are a reflection of the strong 2023 financials, our growth prospects in 2024, and balance sheet strength."

As of 1100 GMT, Airbus shares were down 1.25% at €148.38 each.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com