With orders and earnings up sharply, and currency and financing risks seemingly under control, EADS has reaffirmed that it is set for a strong recovery. The company last week reported an 8% rise in earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) for 2003 and a doubling of orders, to 61 billion euros ($75 billion). Free cash flow before customer financing tripled, to 2.1 billion euros, and net income reached 152 million euros, against a 299-million-euro loss in 2002. The company said orders, cash flow and EBIT were all substantially better than anticipated. And although revenues were basically flat, defense sales surged 18% to 7.1 billion euros and contributed significantly to improved performance, accounting for fully half of new orders and more than 15% of EBIT, the company noted. Earnings at the revamped defense and security division were up sharply, and the military transport unit swung from a loss to a profit.
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