By Maitane Sardon

Shares in Airbus SA rose Thursday after the company posted first-quarter earnings above market expectations and said it would boost future production rates for its A320.

The European plane maker reported adjusted earnings before interest and taxes--a key profitability metric--of 1.26 billion euros ($1.34 billion) for the quarter, up from EUR694 million a year earlier. The figure beat analysts' forecasts of EUR719 million. Net profit jumped to EUR1.22 billion, beating analysts' views of EUR460 million.

At 0756 GMT shares traded 7.9% higher at EUR110.72.

The company also said it would boost global production of the A320 family of narrow-body jets to 75 a month starting in 2025, up from around 50 currently. The company had previously said it was planning to increase production to 65 a month by the summer of next year.

The planned production boost was the most meaningful takeaway from the company's first-quarter results as the market was doubtful, and that this was being reflected in the share price, Citi analyst Charles J. Armitage said in a research note. "There still is doubt, but we feel this is now definitely an execution issue, that Airbus and supply-chain now need to execute on, rather than an ethereal hope, giving upward pressure on long-term valuation," Mr. Armitage said.

Write to Maitane Sardon at maitane.sardon@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 05, 2022 04:39 ET (08:39 GMT)

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