(Bloomberg) -- Airbus SE delivered about 55 planes in April, according to a person familiar with the matter, as the world’s largest planemaker continues to struggle with supply shortages that have slowed production. 

The April figure represents about a 10% drop from 61 handovers in March, dealing Chief Executive Officer Guillaume Faury a setback toward his goal of raising deliveries to 720 jets this year. 

Airbus has sought to aggressively ramp up output to meet a post-Covid surge demand from airlines, but has been constrained by creaky supply chains and worker shortages. 

A spokesman for Toulouse, France-based Airbus declined to comment on deliveries ahead of the first-quarter results scheduled for later on Wednesday. 

Ambitious Target

In order to meet its delivery target, Airbus needs to average about 60 aircraft each month, though the company tends to accelerate output toward the end of the year. It got off to a particularly slow start in 2023, shipping just 20 jets in January. The company cut its annual delivery target twice in the course of last year, ultimately handing over 661 jets as it grappled with supply issues.

Deliveries totaled 127 planes in the first quarter, a 9% drop from a year earlier, causing Airbus to fall behind Boeing Co. for the first time in almost five years.

Chloe Lemarie, an analyst with Jefferies, estimates Airbus  delivered about 52 planes in April, up from the 48 shipped in April 2022. 

Sanctions tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have also made it harder for Airbus, Boeing Co. and their subcontractors to secure raw materials like titanium, driving up prices. China’s Covid Zero policies further disrupted parts flows, and post-pandemic labor shortages have affected suppliers.

Faury recently said component snarls could last until the end of 2024 or even into 2025. Major customers such as Air Lease Corp. have suggested delivery delays could extend even further.

Airplane parts such as seats “are missing, equipment is missing, people are missing, semiconductors are missing, raw materials are missing,” Faury said in an April 26 interview on French radio. 

Airbus shares were little changed at €125.90 as of 12:22 p.m. in Paris.

 

(Updates with chart, analyst estimate in seventh paragraph, previous comment from CEO)

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.