Airbus parent profits hit by A380 wing problem

PARIS — Airbus parent company EADS says its first quarter earnings were hammered by a hefty $203-million charge to fix problematic wing parts on its flagship A380 superjumbo.

EADS says the charge to fix the so-called “wing rib feet” — the metal brackets that connect the wing's ribs to its skin — on all the A380s in service had left first quarter profit at (euro) 133 million. That's still well above the (euro) 12 million the company lost in the year earlier period due to an accounting change.

EADS said the cost of fixing the problem will slow its efforts to improve the A380 program's profitability, and makes its target of delivering 30 of the aricraft this year “more challenging.”