PARIS, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Airbus missed its

headline delivery target by a whisker in 2024, provisionally

releasing more than 765 jets to airlines and lessors, industry

sources said, citing preliminary data.

Airbus notionally delivered more than 122 planes in

December, bringing the total for the year to just over 765, they

said. Airbus declined comment ahead of an announcement on Jan 9.

The European planemaker had forecast "around 770" deliveries

after lowering its target in July due to supply problems, and

averted a potential second profit warning after striking a deal

over extra engine supplies in November.

But supplies of interiors remain a persistent problem and

some deliveries had to be shelved amid complex negotiations

between airline, planemaker and seat supplier, leaving the 770

target narrowly out of reach, the sources said.

The data is subject to a routine audit and can change at the

last minute, with some discretion allowed in whether deliveries

can be booked before the change of ownership is complete, though

one source said such "paper" deliveries had fallen in 2024.

Airbus had already prepared the ground for a slight miss in

the delivery target by telling analysts that a shortfall of

anything less than 20 jets would not be considered material, and

therefore not serious enough to warrant a new profit warning.

Airbus generates the bulk of its operating profits and most

of its cashflow from commercial jet deliveries.

Bloomberg News reported on Thursday that Airbus had

delivered around 760 planes in 2024.

Airbus will give forecasts for 2025 with full results on

Jan. 20.