HI Uplift: Airbus screens full-year 2025 results

The Airbus H160

If you like your aviation videos fast-paced and glitzy, you would enjoy the two-and-a-half-minute film preceding Airbus’s 2025 results presentation yesterday. There was plenty for rotary fans. Starting with a graphic of a helicopter in spiralling ascent, the video featured a series of rotary assets including the record-breaking Airbus Racer demonstrator aircraft, engineers working on airframes and the small, uncrewed Flexrotor VTOL. Also featured were the flagship Airbus H160 plus other helicopters pictured flying a range of missions including: firefighting, disaster relief and search and rescue.

Behind the moving images was a solid set of full-year financial results. Airbus Helicopters achieved revenues of €8.9bn ($10.6bn) last year – 13% up on 2024. The manufacturer attributed the results to “strong performance from programmes and growth in services”.

Airbus’ helicopter division received net orders totalling 536 units up on 450 in 2024. The orders resulted in a book-to-bill ratio above 1 – both in units and value, reflecting strong momentum particularly for military markets, said the company.

Helicopter deliveries climbed by 31 units to reach 392 units compared with the previous year. Profits increased to €925m adjusted EBIT – up from €818m in 2024; reflecting again higher deliveries plus growth in services.

Market share of 51%

Measured by unit bookings, Airbus Helicopters secured a market share of 51% of the civil and parapublic market. Its military market share rose to 28%.

The orders came from 205 customers in 50 countries. The manufacturer also reported a strong market momentum for its Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) in 2025.

Guillaume Faury, Airbus CEO, said that Airbus delivered 793 fixed-wing commercial aircraft and posted revenues of €73.4bn and adjusted EBIT of €7.1bn in 2025.

“2025 was a landmark year, characterised by very strong demand for our products and services across all businesses, a record financial performance, and strategic milestones,” said Faury. “We successfully navigated a complex and dynamic operating environment to deliver on our updated guidance,”

He added: “Global demand for commercial aircraft underpins our ongoing production ramp-up, which we are managing while facing significant Pratt & Whitney engine shortages [for A320 family aircraft]. The broad and competitive portfolios of Defence and Space as well as Helicopters allow us to capture the momentum in defence.”  While Airbus has secured a critical portion of “its trajectory, some supply chain tensions continue, notably with the engine maker, Pratt & Whitney”.

Failure to commit

The CEO said the engine maker’s failure to commit to the number of engines ordered is adversely affecting this year’s planned ramp up of Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Answering an investor’s question about Pratt & Whitney engine supplies, Faury replied: “That’s the one difficult thing we have to face looking at 2026 is that we have a shortage of engines from Pratt & Whitney compared to what was expected and compared to accepted orders from Pratt & Whitney for deliveries of engines in 2026 for 2026 deliveries. That’s the one significant thing we have to manage.”

Faury added: “We want to enforce our contractual rights, but that will obviously take some time. and we had to significantly reduce the number of aircraft planned for deliveries in 2026 due to that situation with some implications, obviously, on profitability and free cash flow.”

Speaking in January, Bruno Even, CEO of Airbus Helicopters said: “Airbus Helicopters’ outstanding performance in 2025, marked by an order intake increase close to 20% in units, demonstrates that our modern civil and military portfolios are delivering the precise mission capabilities required in today’s complex environment.” Even will step down from his role on April 1st to be replaced by Matthieu Louvot.

‘Unprecedented demand’

To support what the manufacturer described as “unprecedented demand”, Airbus Helicopters is continuing to expand its global industrial base. Last year work started on a new facility in Vemagal, in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. This will become its fourth H125 Final Assembly Line, reinforcing the company’s commitment to the Indian market and global supply chain resilience, it said.

Overall, Airbus said it was on course to deliver about 870 fixed wing commercial aircraft this year – assuming no additional disruptions to global trade or the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, its internal operations and its ability to deliver products and services. Guidance before mergers and acquisitions and including the impact of currently applicable tariffs is adjusted EBIT of about €7.5bn and free cash flow before customer financing of about €4.5bn. “These 2025 results and the confidence in our future financial performance support the proposed higher dividend payment,” said Faury.

Meanwhile, if you’re still hankering after film of airborne shiny metal – including the impressive H160 – helicopters hoisting fire-fighting buckets and smiling technicians in Toulouse, you can watch the video here.