Airbus pledges higher dividends as it confirms financial guidance

Airbus SE introduced a new dividend policy on Wednesday, increasing the amount it intends to pay to shareholders in the future. The firm increased its new dividend payout ratio limit from 40% to 50% of the share of profits, bringing the new payout range to 30%-50%.
Airbus also hinted at the possibility of paying out a special dividend and introducing share buyback programmes.
The planemaker and defence company also said that it would maintain its long-term cash conversion target, a measurement of the firm's efficiency in converting its profits into cash.
'Airbus will reaffirm its commitment to profitable growth and its cash conversion target of around 1 over a 5-year horizon,' the company said.
Airbus' share price increased by 3% by around 11.00 CEST, following the announcement.
The company's statement comes at a time of global trade uncertainty and supply chain disruptions.
Airbus set a goal of handing over 820 aircraft this year. Ongoing supply chain issues slowed the deliveries in the first months of 2025, but Christian Scherer, CEO of the company's core planemaking business, said that Airbus remains "cautiously hopeful" about meeting its 2025 target.
Meanwhile, Airbus' defence business is thriving.
With the EU preparing a significant defence budget increase, the firm is expecting its military helicopter orders to grow by 50% between 2023 and 2025. Airbus is also developing a drone portfolio, aiming to become a market leader in this segment.
Airbus started this week at the Paris Air Show, announcing new orders from Saudi Arabia and Poland. Airbus also recently signed a framework agreement with the French military for purchases of navy drones, and secured another deal with Singapore to deliver military helicopters.
European shares showed a slight rise in early trading and oil prices remained high on Wednesday as investors tracked the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East.
US benchmark crude oil was down around 0.43% at $74.52 per barrel, while Brent, the international standard, slipped around 0.52% to $76.05, although both WTI and Brent remain high on the month.
Crude prices rose more than 4% on Tuesday after US President Donald Trump left a Group of Seven summit in Canada early and warned that people in Iran's capital should evacuate immediately.
Within about eight hours, Trump went from suggesting that a nuclear deal with Iran remained 'achievable' to urging Tehran's 9.5 million residents to flee for their lives. Iran and Israel continued to exchange airstrikes on Wednesday.
The fighting has driven prices for crude oil and gasoline higher because Iran is a major oil exporter and it sits on the narrow Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world's crude passes. Past conflicts in the area have caused spikes in oil prices, though they've historically proven brief after showing that they did not disrupt the flow of oil.
European stocks, meanwhile, showed faintly positive trends in early trading. The DAX 40 was up around 0.11% at 23,461.41, the CAC 40 rose 0.29% to 7,706.08, the STOXX 600 was broadly flat, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.23% to 8,854.79.
Earlier in the day, Asian stock markets showed a varied picture. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 jumped 0.78% to 38,837.48.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.17% to 23,698.65 while the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3% to 3,388.77.
The Kospi in Seoul gained 0.54% to 2,966.20 while Australia's S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.1% to 8,533.10.
On Tuesday, US stocks slumped under the weight of higher oil prices and weaker than expected retail sales in May.
Trump raised the temperature on Israel's fight with Iran by calling for 'Unconditional surrender!' on his social media platform and saying, 'We are not going to' kill Iran's leader, 'at least for now'.
The S&P 500 fell 0.84% to 5,982.72 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 0.7% to 42,215.80. The Nasdaq composite fell 0.91% to 19,521.09.
On early Wednesday morning in the US, S&P futures rose 0.11% to 5,991.50, Dow Jones futures increased less than 1% to 42,245.00, while Nasdaq futures advanced by 0.13% to 21,759.00.
The markets will be looking to the Federal Reserve as it makes a decision on its interest rates today. The nearly unanimous expectation among traders and economists is that the Fed will make no move.
In currency trading early on Wednesday, the US dollar fell 0.2% to 144.94 Japanese yen. The euro edged 0.18% higher, to $1.1502.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

France 24

2 hours ago

• France 24

Crude sinks as Trump delays decision on Iran strike

Speculation had been swirling that Trump would throw his lot in with Israel, but on Thursday he said he would decide "within the next two weeks" whether to involve the United States, giving diplomacy a shot to end the hostilities. While tensions are sky high amid fears of an escalation, the US president's remarks suggested the crisis could be prevented from spiralling into all-out war between the Middle East foes. Since Israel first hit Iran last Friday, the two have exchanged deadly strikes and apocalyptic warnings, though observers said the conflict has not seen a critical escalation. European foreign ministers were due to meet their Iranian counterpart on Friday in Geneva. In a statement read out by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president said: "Based on the fact that there's a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks." Leavitt added: "If there's a chance for diplomacy the president's always going to grab it, but he's not afraid to use strength as well." Both main oil contracts were down around two percent Friday but uncertainty prevailed and traders remained nervous. "Crude still calls the shots, and volatility's the devil in the room -- and every trader on the street knows we're two headlines away from chaos," said Stephen Innes at SPI Asset Management. "Make no mistake: we're trading a geopolitical powder keg with a lit fuse. "President Trump's two-week 'thinking window' on whether to join Israel's war against Iran is no cooling-off period -- it's a ticking volatility clock." Stocks were mixed following a public holiday in New York, with Hong Kong, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok all up with London, Paris and Frankfurt. Seoul's Kospi led the gains, rising more than one percent to break 3,000 points for the first time in nearly three and a half years. The index has risen every day except one since the June 4 election of a new president, which ended months of political crisis and fuelled hopes for an economic rebound. Tokyo fell as Japanese core inflation accelerated, stoked by a doubling in the cost of rice, a hot topic issue that poses a threat to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba ahead of elections next month. There were also losses in Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Manila and Jakarta. The Middle East crisis continues to absorb most of the news but Trump's trade war remains a major obstacle for investors as the end of a 90-day pause on his April 2 tariff blitz approaches with few governments reaching deals to avert them being imposed. "While the worst of the tariffs have been paused, we suspect it won't be until those deadlines approach that new agreements may be finalised," said David Sekera, chief US market strategist at Morningstar. "Until then, as news emerges regarding the progress and substance of trade negotiations, these headlines could have an outsize positive or negative impact on markets." Key figures at around 0715 GMT Brent North Sea Crude: DOWN 2.6 percent at $76.85 per barrel Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.2 percent at 38,403.23 (close) Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 0.1 percent at 3,359.90 (close) London - FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 8,819.26 Euro/dollar: UP at $1.1517 from $1.1463 on Thursday Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3467 from $1.3429 Dollar/yen: DOWN at 145.38 yen from 145.63 yen Euro/pound: UP at 85.51 pence from 85.36 pence © 2025 AFP

Local France

3 hours ago

• Local France

France finds cash for ‘strategic asset' satellite firm Eutelsat

'The race is on. That's why we have to take a position now and invest now. Otherwise, the whole market will be occupied and France and Europe will depend on other powers in future,' Macron's office told AFP. Part of an overall deal with other investors worth €1.35 billion, a new €717 million capital injection by the French state on Thursday will make Paris Eutelsat's largest shareholder, raising its stake from 13 percent to just under 30 percent – a threshold that would have required launching a full takeover bid. The announcement comes as competition heats up in the satellite communications sector, where Elon Musk's Starlink is a dominant player but some governments would prefer sovereign solutions. Boasting more than 600 satellites since merging with British firm OneWeb in 2023, Eutelsat is the world's second-largest operator of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, behind Starlink, making it the obvious candidate as a European champion. The company has in the past called itself 'the only LEO alternative to Starlink'. 'Eutelsat is a strategic asset contributing to European strategic autonomy,' French Finance Minister Eric Lombard's office said. But it remains far smaller than the American heavyweight, which has 6,000 satellites lofted into orbit by Musk's comparatively cheap, reusable SpaceX rockets. Set to be completed by the end of this year, the capital increase is 'a pivotal step in Eutelsat's strategic and financing roadmap, enabling the execution of its strategic vision,' it said. The money will fund a renewal of Eutelsat's satellite fleet and improve its financial situation, including through a debt restructuring. Eutelsat is also gearing up to contribute to the Iris² network of European satellites in multiple orbits, supposed to offer communication services from 2030. 'The war in Ukraine has shown the importance of space infrastructure for resilient communications infrastructure, whether civilian or military,' Lombard's office said. Advertisement 'It has also spotlighted Europe's dependence on non-European technology.' Musk has called Starlink the 'backbone' of the Ukrainian army because of its wide use defending against Russia's invasion since 2022 – and warned that 'their entire front line would collapse if I turned it off', sending Europeans scrambling for alternatives. Eutelsat had already this week signed a 10-year, billion-euro deal at the Paris Air Show to provide military communications for the French armed forces. And presenting its latest quarterly results last month, the firm said it was in active sales talks with governments both inside and outside Europe. Major shareholders stumping up money alongside Paris are shipping giant CMA CGM, Indian telecoms operator Bharti Airtel and the FSP investment fund, owned by seven French insurance companies. The two-stage plan includes a 'reserved' capital increase open only to the four named investors, with a second round open to others. 'Discussions are ongoing' with other investors including the British government, 'which could join the capital raise in due course,' Eutelsat said. Advertisement

Euronews

4 hours ago

• Euronews

German and French industry united on EU aircraft sector tariffs

The German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) wants only completed products aircraft and helicopters to be targeted by the EU for retaliatory tariffs - leaving the market for the supply of parts unscathed - if trade negotiations between the EU and the US founder, the group has told Euronews. It's position aligns it with the French sector's stance. 'If the EU must respond, counter-tariffs should focus strictly on fully finished aerospace end products – such as complete aircraft and helicopters – and explicitly exclude spare parts or critical products,' BDLI said in an email to Euronews. 'This is essential to avoid unintended harm to European and global production networks.' US aircraft are included in the European Commission's draft listof €95 billion worth of US products that could face duties if ongoing negotiations fail. The list was open for industry consultation until 10 June and now awaits approval by EU member states. BDLI's position mirrors that of Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury, who also chairs the French aerospace association GIFAS. Speaking to French media in May, Faury backed tariffs on finished aircraft but warned against measures affecting spare parts, to avoid disrupting the global supply chain. A source familiar with the matter told Euronews that the French government supports the stance of its aerospace industry. In response to the EU's inclusion of aircraft in its draft retaliation list, the US has launched an investigation that could pave the way for the Trump administration to impose additional tariffs on the EU aerospace sector. Trade tensions between the EU and the US risk reignitingthe long-standing rivalry between aerospace giants Boeing and Airbus. However, the two economies' production systems are tightly intertwined. For instance, the LEAP engine, used in both Airbus and Boeing jets, is co-produced by US-based General Electric and France's Safran. Aircraft remain a central issue in ongoing EU-US negotiations. Following a discussion with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said both leaders had directed their teams to accelerate negotiation. EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič also met with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on Monday, on the margins of the G7. A follow-up meeting with US counterparts is scheduled to take place in Washington on Thursday and Friday, an EU spokesperson confirmed. The US currently imposes tariffs of 50% on EU steel and aluminium, 25% on cars, and 10% on all other EU imports. President Trump has warned he will raise tariffs on all EU imports to 50% if no 'fair' agreement is reached by 9 July. The UK has the highest rate of telework among 18 European countries, with employees working an average of 1.8 days a week from home. On a wider scale, this total also places the UK second out 40 nations. But, aside from the UK, how do work-from-home (WFH) rates differ across Europe and the world? And what might explain variations between countries? The Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA) shows that telework trends have evolved since the COVID-19 pandemic. The fourth wave of the survey, conducted between November 2024 and February 2025, covers full-time workers aged 20 to 64 who have completed tertiary education (college or university). While the global telework average stands at 1.2 days per week, WFH rates vary significantly across the 40 countries surveyed, ranging from just 0.5 days per week in South Korea to 1.9 days in Canada. Several factors underpin the UK's top ranking, according to Dr. Cevat Giray Aksoy, lead economist at the EBRD and associate professor of economics at King's College London. 'The UK scores highly on cultural individualism, which is strongly associated with comfort in autonomous work environments,' said Giray Aksoy. Aksoy noted that the UK experienced long and stringent lockdowns, accelerating the adoption of remote work infrastructure and norms. He also explained that the UK's labour market is concentrated in service sectors — such as finance, consulting, and media — where WFH can be a practical option. "Crucially, British workers have developed strong and durable preferences for hybrid work, typically wanting 2–3 WFH days per week. This is no longer a marginal benefit; it's a core expectation," he said. Aksoy warned that firms ignoring this reality may face a serious disadvantage in attracting and retaining talent — particularly when competing with employers in other English-speaking countries that have embraced flexibility. In Europe, Finland (1.7 days) and Germany (1.6 days) followed the UK in the ranking. The WFH rates are also relatively high in Portugal (1.5 days), as well as in Hungary and the Netherlands (both 1.4 days). Employees in Czechia, Italy, and Sweden work from home 1.3 days per week, which is slightly above the global average. Romania, Spain, and Austria align with the global average, each reporting 1.2 remote work days per week. Dr. Aksoy attributes the variation across European countries to a mix of structural, cultural, and economic factors. 'Among these, the most powerful predictor is individualism — a cultural trait that emphasises personal autonomy, self-reliance, and independence over collective goals or close supervision,' he said. He added that other factors also play a role. These include the severity and duration of COVID-19 lockdowns, population density, and the industrial structure of each economy. For instance, countries with a larger share of remote-friendly sectors such as IT and finance are better positioned to support hybrid models. Densely populated countries also often see higher WFH levels, in part due to longer commutes. Greece reports the lowest WFH rate in Europe at just 0.6 days per week. 'Part of the explanation lies in the structure of the Greek economy, which leans heavily on sectors like tourism, retail, and hospitality — jobs that generally require physical presence,' said Aksoy. 'But deeper cultural and institutional factors also play a role. Greece scores relatively low on individualism,' he added. He stated that digital adoption and management practices were relatively underdeveloped before the pandemic, which likely slowed the normalisation of WFH. While Finland ranks second in Europe with 1.7 remote work days per week, Norway and Denmark report significantly lower rates at just 0.9 days. Sweden, with 1.3 days, sits in between, reflecting a clear divide in remote work trends across the Nordic countries. Aksoy explained that Finland has a slightly more individualistic culture and a long-standing emphasis on work-life balance and employee autonomy compared to Denmark and Norway, which may maintain more traditional management practices. 'Finnish organisations, especially in the public sector and technology industries, were early adopters of flexible work policies — even before the pandemic,' he added. Among Europe's five largest economies, France has the lowest remote work rate, with employees averaging just 1 day per week from home. Turkey follows closely at 0.9 days, while Poland is slightly ahead with 1.1 days. Overall levels of working from home have declined globally, dropping from an average of 1.6 days per week in 2022 to 1.33 days in 2023. In 2024 and 2025, they fell far more modestly to 1.27 days. The research concludes that remote work levels have roughly stabilised since 2023. 'However, this stability doesn't mean stasis. Incremental shifts could still occur — driven by new technologies, changing demographics, or evolving labour market conditions,' Aksoy added.