Airbus parent EADS sees Q4 earnings halve

Airbus parent company EADS NV posted a 47 percent drop in fourth-quarter net profit Wednesday after taking costly charges at its helicopter and defense electronics divisions, AP reported. The aerospace giant recorded euro 325 million ($425 million) net profit in the October-December period, down from the previous year's euro 612 million. But for the full year, its net earnings were up 19 percent at euro 1.23 billion from euro 1.03 billion in 2011. 'There's still some way to go to meet our profitability targets,' said chief executive Tom Enders. Revenues rose 17 percent during the fourth quarter to euro 19.22 billion, with the core Airbus division posting a 21 percent increase to almost euro 13 billion. Investors welcomed the figures, pushing EADS shares up 6.7 percent to euro 37.20 on the NYSE Euronext exchange in Paris.