Airbus hints at new Space charge as it explores alliance

By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus signalled a potential new charge in its troubled Space business on Tuesday, saying it would update investors on a long-running status review of a major satellite programme during annual results on Feb. 20.

In a webcast to analysts, the European aerospace group did not provide details of the planned update but said it was progressing in its more than year-old technical assessment.

Airbus has already absorbed 1.6 billion euros ($1.67 billion) of charges for its Space business, which industry sources have linked mainly to the ambitious OneSat programme of reprogrammable satellites, with more provisions expected.

Heavy internal losses and competition from Elon Musk's Starlink have led Europe's two largest players - Airbus and Thales Alenia Space - to consider pooling satellite activities in a new venture similar to European missile maker MBDA.

The chief executive of Italy's Leonardo, which owns one third of Thales Alenia Space alongside majority owner Thales, said earlier he had met with Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury to discuss possible alliances in the satellite industry.

Airbus rival Boeing is also suffering problems in its space activities as the traditional aerospace companies face escalating competition from players like Musk's SpaceX.

Boeing earlier set out 2024 losses including a pre-announced charge on the Commercial Crew space programme and other fixed-price contracts in its Defense & Space division.

In its preparatory webcast for analysts, Airbus said it expected its cost-cutting and improvement programme, known as "LEAD!", to show similar financial benefits in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with the previous quarter.

Airbus last week told unions it was scrapping efforts to create a freight airline out of spare capacity for the whale-like Beluga planes that it uses to ferry fuselage parts between its factories. Unions have criticised the cost-cutting drive.

After over-hiring staff to prepare for production increases, Airbus said its headcount would be roughly stable in the fourth quarter compared with the previous three months.

The publication of a quarterly webcast on the company's website is a relatively new practice under market transparency rules, and marks the beginning of a "quiet period" limiting communications ahead of the company's Feb. 20 results.

(Reporting by Tim HepherEditing by David Goodman and Leslie Adler)