Airbus 2013 Annual Report Download - page 17

What are your priorities for the year ahead?
To put it simply and bluntly: 2014 is all about execution.
We have a busy schedule ahead of us. Our biggest development
programme, the A350 XWB, is now in its most critical phase.
We have to manage not only rst deliveries but the industrial
ramp-up for the years ahead. We have to increase A400M
deliveries and in our Helicopter business, we must get the EC175
in the hands of its rst customers.
Beyond the programme milestones, we’ll be working to make
our Company more competitive for the future. The Airbus
Defence and Space Division has an important role here.
Airbus Helicopters, too, is taking important steps. In addition,
a major Group-wide priority for 2014 is Quest, our quality initiative,
which will help us boost performance, customer satisfaction and
our bottom-line. We have to limit unplanned charges across the
company going forward, whether “one-offs” or more structural.
With the new governance and structure, shareholder
engagement has become a clear priority. What about
other stakeholders?
We’re a normal enterprise and we’re judged on performance by
our shareholders. That’s a simple fact. But let’s face it: we can’t
deliver performance without the full engagement of the many
people who drive the business every day. By that I mean, above
all, our workforce, made up of talented, passionate and highly
professional people. It’s their effort, their drive and innovation that
make the Company improve and helped it achieve the many
accolades it did last year.
In 2013, we recognised the contribution of Airbus Group
employees through a special offer of 10 free shares to each.
I think it’s appropriate for employees to take a share in company
ownership. We’re all in this enterprise together. And we all want
it to succeed.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER’S INTERVIEW —
The Group’s renaming is a logical consequence of this strategy.
It gathers its components under the strongest brand, one that
stands for internationalisation, innovation and integration.
It reinforces the message: “We Make It Fly”. I think it’s a brand
we can all wear with pride.
Which operational developments would you highlight?
There were a number of operational achievements in 2013 which
ultimately meant we again increased revenues and made further
progress towards our 2015 protability target.
Clearly, 2013 was a great year for the commercial aircraft
business with record Airbus deliveries of 626 aircraft. That’s
no mean feat. Airbus also accomplished the rst ight of the
A350XWB and the initial A400M deliveries were realised.
Four Ariane 5 launches were conducted with six company-built
satellites delivered and we saw good programme execution in
defence, particularly for the Euroghter Typhoon. In the Helicopter
business, the EC225 Super Puma returned to service with all
operators worldwide. That was a signicant achievement
following recent operational issues.
Order intake was particularly strong at Airbus with a record
1,619gross commercial orders but we shouldn’t overlook the
strong performance in the space business with a book-to-bill
above 1. The Group order backlog reached a record € 687 billion
by year end. Not many other manufacturing companies can have
that amount of visibility in their production planning.
We saw a signicant improvement in protability despite the
one-off charges for the A350 XWB programme and the ongoing
restructuring. And, this upturn wasn’t purely down to the strong
commercial aircraft activities. Despite a difcult market
environment, protability at the defence business improved
thanks to our transformation efforts and good programme
management and we achieved a 6% return on sales for the rst
time in the space business.
“We’ll be working to make
our Company more
competitive for the future.”
DRIVING OUR DEVELOPMENT — ANNUAL REVIEW 2013
GROUP PRIORITIES 2014 - KEY POINTS
Shape our Future, Stay Innovative: Combine technology
roadmaps into a Group-wide R&T Strategy.
Internationalisation: Adopt “One-Roof Principle” in key
countries. Increase international reach, leverage presence.
Make Airbus Group a Success: Shape defence and space
for competitiveness. Strengthen helicopter business. Manage
commercial aircraft execution challenges.
People: Support people through the Group restructuring.
Invest in mastery of critical skills and behaviours for future.
Strive for further Improvement of Customer
Satisfaction: Deliver products and services on quality,
on time and on cost.
Drive our Performance: Stick to Operative Planning
commitments, focus on protability and cash management.
Ethics and Compliance: Follow Integrity Principles and
speak up to improve performance and preserve reputation.
Cyber Security and Protection of our Assets:
Protect intellectual property, industrial assets and products.
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