Airbus Parent EADS Reports Q3 Loss On Weak Dollar

BY EMMA VANDORE

PARIS (AP) — EADS, the parent company of plane maker Airbus, on Monday said it lost euro87 million ($130 million) in the third quarter, due partly to the weak dollar, and warned that troubled aircraft programs could further weigh on earnings in the fourth quarter.

Still, the company said it expected demand in its key markets to improve in coming months as the economic downturn eases.

The third quarter loss, its first in two years, compares to a euro679 million profit a year earlier.

EADS said it was unable to give a full year forecast for earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) — the measure analysts watch most closely — because of "ongoing uncertainties on the magnitude of the potential" charges on its A400M military transport airplane and its A380 superjumbo programs.

"New programs require our utmost attention," CEO Louis Gallois said in a statement.

European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. had been targeting positive EBIT in the second half, while expecting it to be lower than the euro888 million booked in the first half because of higher research costs and the foreign exchange rate impact.