Airbus has posted a net loss of €481 million for the first quarter of 2020, compared with a net profit of €40 million for the same period last year.

Adjusted earnings for the period stood at €281 million, down from €549 million in the quarter in 2019, a drop of 49 per cent.

However, the situation is expected to deteriorate further in the coming months.

Commenting on the results, Airbus chief executive Guillaume Faury said: “We saw a solid start to the year both commercially and industrially, but we are quickly seeing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic coming through in the numbers.

“We are now in the midst of the gravest crisis the aerospace industry has ever known.

“We are implementing a number of measures to ensure the future of Airbus.

“We kicked off early by bolstering available liquidity to support financial flexibility.

“We are adapting commercial aircraft production rates in line with customer demand and concentrating on cash containment and our longer-term cost structure to ensure we can return to normal operations once the situation improves.”

Consolidated revenues decreased to €10.6 billion, down from €12.5 billion in 2019, reflecting the difficult market environment impacting the commercial aircraft business.

Airbus delivered a total of 122 planes during the three months to March 31st, down 40 from the 162 handed over to airlines during the same period last year.

In total, the manufacturer delivered eight A220s, 96 A320 family planes, four A330s and 14 A350s.

In the longer term, Airbus had 7,650 commercial aircraft on order at the end of March.

The 2020 guidance from Airbus was also withdrawn in March.

The impact of Covid-19 on the business continues to be assessed and given the limited visibility, in particular with respect to the delivery situation, no new guidance would be issued, the company added.