By Olivia Bugault

Airbus SE said Thursday that it expects higher earnings and aircraft deliveries this year after booking lower sales in its fourth quarter as it delivered fewer commercial planes.

The European plane maker said it expects to deliver 720 commercial jets this year, up from 611 in 2021, while it targets adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of 5.5 billion euros ($6.26 billion), which compares with EUR4.87 billion last year. Free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions and customer financing should be around EUR3.5 billion this year, it said.

Airbus posted net profit of EUR1.58 billion in the fourth quarter, compared with EUR1.55 billion in the same period a year earlier. Revenue fell 14% to EUR16.99 billion in the wake of fewer plane deliveries as well as lower revenues at its helicopters and defense and space divisions, it said.

Airbus's more closely watched adjusted EBIT fell 18% to EUR1.5 billion, it said.

The company will propose a dividend of EUR1.5 a share for 2021, it said.

Airbus reported free cash flow before mergers and acquisitions and customer financing of EUR3.52 billion at the end of 2021.

Write to Olivia Bugault at olivia.bugault@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2022 01:12 ET (06:12 GMT)

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