AIRBUS parent group EADS is warning that it faces lower profits and plane orders this year, as well as more charges on its delayed A400M military plane.

The news overshadowed better-than-expected 2008 results which saw net profits jump to £1.5bn from a loss of around £400m for 2007. The sombre outlook sent shares in the aerospace giant lower as investors focused on the challenges which the company, like American rival Boeing, faces as airlines grapple with falling demand and tougher financing.

EADS said there were increasing challenges to Airbus's forecast of 300-400 plane orders in 2009, down by half from last year, as well as uncertainty over deliveries in the second half of the year. Group chief executive Louis Gallois said he remained “uncomfortable” over production levels at Airbus, despite recently announcing cuts.

On a visit last month to Airbus’s Broughton plant, near Chester, where the wings for the company’s airliners are made, Mr Gallois told the Liverpool Daily Post that it was vital the aircraft manufacturer remained flexible and matched production rates to demand. Airbus is already planning to cut production of its best-selling A320 family of aircraft from the current 36 a month to 34 later this year.

The company increased aircraft deliveries by 7% in 2008, compared with the previous year.