Airbus Se Unsp/Adr

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Airbus full-year 2024 results release conference call. I am Sandra, the operator for this conference. Please note that for the duration of the presentation, all participants will be in listen-only mode and the conference is being recorded. After the presentation, there will be an opportunity to ask questions. At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to your hosts, Guillaume Fourie, Thomas Zepfer, on Alain Legorge. Please, go ahead.

Thank you, Sandra. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is the AVUS full year 2024 results release conference call. Guillaume Faurie of CEO and Thomas Topfer of CFO will be presenting our results and answering your questions. This call is planned to last around one hour and 15 minutes. This includes Q&A, which we will conduct after the presentation. This call is also webcast. It can be accessed via our homepage by clicking on the dedicated banner. Playback of this call will be accessible on our website, but there is no dedicated phone replay service. The supporting information package was published on our website earlier today. It includes the slides, which we will now take you through, as well as the financial statements. Throughout this call, we will be making forward-looking statements I invite you to refer to our safe harbor statement that appears in the presentation slide, which applies to this call as well. Please read it carefully. And now, over to you, Guillaume.

Thank you, Hélène. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us this morning for our full year 2024 results call. I'm happy to be here in Toulouse with Thomas and Hélène and to run you through our results. In 2024, we experienced another very strong order intake across all businesses, confirming the demand and positive outlook for our industry and also for products and services. At the same time, we adapted to our operating environment, concentrating on what matters most. We refocused our efforts to progress on our priorities and secure our trajectory. On defense and space, we took further steps to transform the business and the organization. The extensive technical reviews of our space programs have now been completed. On space systems, we progressed on our three-step approach. We have fixed what I would call our foundation. We are executing our turnaround plan. And third, finally, we are evaluating strategic options. And in that sense, We have started exploratory discussions with Thales and Leonardo, and I will comment on it later. On commercial aircraft ramp-up, we prioritized activities and allocated our resources accordingly. We are upskilling our teams, collaborating closely with our suppliers while keeping a laser focus on quality and safety. In a nutshell, we are progressing in an environment that remains complex and, as you can see yourself, fast changing. In that context, we delivered 766 commercial aircraft in 2024, including 269 in the last quarter, a year-on-year annual increase of plus 4%. This includes the very first XLR deliveries, A321XLR, deliveries, unlocking new opportunities for our customers. We delivered on our revised guidance, and I consider it a real achievement in the environment I described. I am really proud of what the teams have achieved, and let me also underline the dedication of all our partners to come to that result. Now, looking at our 2024 financial performance, our EBIT adjusted stood at 5.4 billion euros, reflecting our commercial aircraft deliveries and the solid performance at helicopters. It also reflects the 1.3 billion euros of charges in our space programs for the full year, including a 0.3 billion euro charge recorded in Q4, resulting from the completion of the technical review. And Thomas will come back to it later. Our free cash flow before customer financing was at 4.5 billion euros, reflecting the strong performance in all businesses. These financial results, with a net income of €4.2 billion and our confidence in our future financial performance, support our 2024 dividend proposal of €2 per share and a special dividend of €1 per share. With all that in mind, let's take a closer look at 2024, starting with commercial positioning. So let's now look at our commercial environment, starting with commercial aircraft. In 2024, travel demand remained robust, continuing to exceed historical records. This year was a successful one on the commercial front after the 2023 record year. We had customers reordering the same family of aircraft, while some of our product lines welcomed new customers. In 2024, we booked 878 gross orders, including 211 in Q4. On the A220, we booked 17 gross orders, gaining four new operators. Looking at the A320 family, we booked 637 gross orders, including 180 in the fourth quarter, bringing our backlog to 7,210 aircraft. Thereof, more than two-thirds are for the A321. Moving to the white bodies, we recorded 224 gross orders underpinning the continued momentum for our white body family. Net orders amounted to 826 aircraft, including 52 cancellations, and our backlog in units increased to 8,658 aircraft at the end of December, reflecting a book to build above one. At group level, Our backlog in value increased to 629 billion euros in 2024, mainly reflecting the book to build above one I mentioned before for all divisions and the strengthening of the US dollar. Looking at helicopters, I see 2024 as an exceptional year for Airbus helicopters. We booked 450 net orders compared to 393 in 2023, with a book to be above one, both in units and value, highlighting a strong demand for platforms. And we also secured a good order intake on services. This includes the remarkable performance of the so-called Super Puma family, or the H225 family, for which in the fourth quarter, we signed a contract with the Dutch Ministry of Defense for 12 H225Ms. We continue to see positive momentum in both the civil and military markets, and we remain focused on securing new business opportunities in both our home countries and on export markets. Then in defense and space, in 2024, our order intake stood at 16.7 billion euros, up 6% year on year, corresponding to a book-to-bill of around 1.4. It is the record order intake, and this is for the second year in a row, while being more selective on our biddings and more prudent on the risk profiles. I am obviously very satisfied with this. I see it as a proof that we have the right products and services in the current environment and for our customers. Key orders recorded in Q4 reflect a strong momentum across all business lines, and in particular on the so-called air power side. On Eurofighter, we are proud to highlight that the Spanish government has signed the Alcon II contract for the acquisition of 25 Eurofighter aircraft to be assembled, tested, and delivered at the Airbus Cretaceous site. In addition, Italy also placed an order for up to 24 Eurofighters. With this contract, both countries will further expand their existing fleet. Concerning the F-400M. Airbus Defence and Space signed two strategic contracts with the Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation, the OCAR. The first is the Global Support Services, so-called GSS-3 contract, which provides a full range of tailored services, and the other being the so-called Block Upgrade Zero contract, which represents the first upgrade of the A400M's operational capabilities beyond the scope of the original launch contract. On Space, We have been awarded a contract by UTELSAT to build the extension of its one-web low Earth orbit LEO constellation in December. Here, let me recall our plan. Now we have completed the technical reviews, as I said earlier. We continue to execute our turnaround plan, and notably with the organization and the workforce adaptation. We have started what I call exploratory discussions with Thales and Leonardo. These discussions, which are preliminary and non-binding at this stage, aim at assessing different scenarios to consolidate and strengthen the European space sector and add value to the main stakeholders of this industry. And now, Thomas will take you through our financials. Thomas.