By Mauro Orru

Airbus is scheduled to report results for the fourth quarter on Thursday. Here is what you need to know:

REVENUE FORECAST: The European plane maker is expected to post revenue of 24.68 billion euros ($25.90 billion) for the three months to the end of December, according to a market consensus provided by the company based on estimates from 22 analysts. The forecast is above revenue of 22.89 billion euros that Airbus reported for the fourth quarter of 2023.

EARNINGS FORECASTS: Net profit should come in at nearly 2.10 billion euros, according to the consensus, above 1.46 billion euros from a year earlier. Adjusted earnings before interest and taxes--Airbus's preferred measure of profitability--are expected to climb to 2.60 billion euros from 2.21 billion euros.

Airbus stock is up about 15% over the past 12 months.

WHAT TO WATCH:

-- GUIDANCE: Airbus is due to disclose how many commercial aircraft it expects to deliver to customers this year. The company delivered 25 planes in January and is expected to guide for about 824 units in 2025, according to consensus estimates by Visible Alpha, above the roughly 770 target it had set for 2024. Airbus delivered 766 planes last year.

The guidance should be investors' main focus, UBS's Ian Douglas-Pennant wrote in a note to clients. He is projecting 815 plane deliveries this year. Airbus will also set targets for annual adjusted EBIT and free cash flow before customer financing--a metric closely watched by analysts and investors.

-- SUPPLY CHAINS: Investors will also be on the lookout for any remarks from Airbus executives about supply chains. The company cut its original target of roughly 800 plane deliveries last June due to challenges in procuring engines, aerostructures and cabin equipment.

-- SPACE BUSINESS: Airbus is dealing with setbacks at its defense and space division--where it plans to cut more than 2,000 jobs--after it was forced to revise forecasts on workload, risks and costs for some telecommunications, navigation and observation programs. The division logged an adjusted loss before interest and taxes of 661 million euros in the first nine months of the year. Investors will be paying attention to how the business performed in the last quarter.

-- SHAREHOLDER RETURNS: Airbus will also disclose what dividend it expects to propose at its next annual general meeting. The company proposed a 2023 dividend of 1.80 euros a share and a special dividend of 1 euro a share at its last annual general meeting on April 10.

Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 17, 2025 04:49 ET (09:49 GMT)

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