Rendering of an Airbus OneSat satellite. Photo: Airbus

Airbus logged another 300 million euros ($310 million) in charges on its Space programs in the fourth quarter 2024 after completing an in-depth technical review of its Space segment. In total, the Space segment took 1.3 billion ($1.36 billion) euros in charges during the year, some of which were previously reported.

Airbus reported its full year 2024 results on Feb. 20. Revenues at Airbus Defence and Space increased 5% year-on-year to 12.1 billion euros ($12.7 billion), which Airbus said was mainly driven by the Air Power business.

Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury told investors on Feb. 20 that the company will be executing its turnaround plan for the Defence and Space segment and adapting its workforce, while looking at ways to create scale in the space business. Late last year, Airbus announced plans to cut up to 2,500 positions within the group through mid-2026. 

Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo are in talks for a potential space merger, Faury said Thursday that any consolidation would be to gain “scale and speed.” 

Faury said such a consolidation model could look like MBDA, the European multinational defense conglomerate which has Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo as its parent company. Airbus would want a “significant share with others” Faury said. 

“We are in a situation where some U.S. players are disrupting the ecosystem at scale [with] new technologies, constellations. In Europe, [including with Airbus, Thales, and Telespazio] we have technologies — in some cases even better ones — but we are missing the scale that we need to be competitive in this new environment. We want to create the scale,” Faury said. 

Overall, Airbus reported consolidated revenues of 69 billion euros ($72 billion), up 6% year-over-year. The company delivered 766 commercial aircraft during 2024, 31 more aircraft than in 2023.