By Tim Hepher
PARIS (Reuters) -European planemaker Airbus on Wednesday posted a higher-than-expected second-quarter profit, boosted by its defence and helicopter units, and maintained full-year forecasts as it aims to reverse a drop in jetliner deliveries.
The world's largest jetmaker - which also makes satellites, fighters and civil and military helicopters - said its widely watched adjusted operating profit almost doubled to 1.58 billion euros ($1.81 billion) as revenues remained broadly flat at 16.07
billion euros.
It also announced plans to raise production target for its A330neo jet to 5 a month in 2029 to meet rising wide-body demand, while keeping other production targets unchanged.
A strong increase in profit had been widely expected after Airbus took a hefty charge on its space business a year ago, but the results slightly beat forecasts in Defence and Space, the company's second-largest division, as well as Helicopters.
Analysts were on average expecting adjusted operating income of 1.47 billion euros on revenues of 15.78 billion euros in the second quarter, according to a company-compiled consensus.
Airbus had previously reported a 5% drop in first-half deliveries to 306 airplanes as it faces engine delays. For the full year it predicts a 7% increase to 820 airplanes.
But the engine delays continue to weigh on cash, which burned more quickly than expected in the second quarter as Airbus said it continued to build airframes awaiting engines.
The company reaffirmed wider financial targets that exclude any impact from tariffs, though CEO Guillaume Faury hailed a weekend EU-US agreement to keep out aerospace from trade tariffs as a "welcome development for our industry".
On the industrial front, Airbus said it now expected a deal to acquire assets from struggling aerospace supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which is being divided up between Airbus and its US rival Boeing to prevent its collapse, to close in the fourth quarter.
($1 = 0.8721 euros)
(Reporting by Tim Hepher, Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten)
