Airbus parent EADS swung to a third-quarter operating loss after delays to the A380 superjumbo program that drove away major customer FedEx led to 1 billion euros ($1.28 billion) in charges.

The loss before interest and taxes and before goodwill impairment and exceptional items was 239 million euros, compared with a year-ago profit of 559 million for EADS.

The charges relating to delays to the A380 sent the result well below the average forecast for an operating profit of 301 million euros in a Reuters poll of eight analysts. EADS gave no new full-year earnings forecast after scrapping it last month.

"The struggle to reverse the A380 problems imposes a severe burden on our financial performance," said EADS co-Chief Executives Tom Enders and Louis Gallois in a statement.

"This together with the dollar devaluation requires drastic measures to remain competitive. Therefore the Power8 (cost-cutting) program in Airbus and structural streamlining of the group has top priority," they added.

FEDEX BLOW

Airbus received a further major blow on Nov. 7 when FedEx said it cancelled its order for 10 A380-800F freighter aircraft because of delivery delays, opting instead to buy planes from rival US planemaker Boeing.

EADS finance head Hans Peter Ring meanwhile cast doubt over the A380 freighter version -- UPS had 10 on order, while International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC) had five -- on a conference call with analysts on Nov. 8.

"If you talk about the still remaining customers, we obviously need to get them reconfirmed, that's clear because all of them are in the cancellation zone, I would say, with the announced delays," Ring said.

"Depending on that, the freighter development will continue or probably...we will have to take another decision whenever the customers made up their mind finally."

UPS Chief Executive Mike Eskew told an investor conference he was in no rush to cancel the company's A380 freighter order and was "not pressed to make a decision."

The biggest buyer of the world's biggest plane, Emirates, said last month it would send its own audit team to Airbus before entering talks to address the A380's two-year delay. Emirates has 43 of the $300 million planes on order.

Decision time

Investors are also keen to hear whether EADS will go ahead with the development of the A350 XWB mid-sized aircraft, crucial if Airbus wants to take on Boeing's fast-selling 787 Dreamliner.

On Nov. 8 EADS said its board would make a decision on the future of the A350 XWB "in the weeks to come." The Power8 program would be "crucial" for the funding needs of the A350, should it go ahead, Ring said.

Depending on the decision, contract charges would have to be taken in the fourth quarter, he added. The A350 charge would be up to 800 million euros in the "worst case."

EADS has repeatedly reassured investors in recent months that the Airbus A400M military transporter was on schedule.

Ring said the company would share the conclusions of an internal technical assessment of the program in a few weeks. (Reuters)