(Reuters) - Airbus predicted a 7% rise in commercial deliveries to around 820 jets in 2025 and confirmed a delay to its A350 freighter model as it posted lower core annual operating earnings broadly in line with expectations on Thursday.

Europe's largest aerospace group also took a fresh charge of 300 million euros ($312.84 million) for its troubled Space business, while flagging potential risks to the long-term manufacturing future of its slow-selling A400M military transport aircraft.

Airbus reported adjusted operating income of 5.35 billion euros for 2024, including 2.56 billion in the fourth quarter as it grappled with ongoing snags in its supply chains. Annual revenues rose 6% to 69.23 billion euros, of which 24.72 billion were generated in the three months to December 31.

Analysts had on average expected fourth-quarter core operating profit of 2.6 billion euros on sales of 24.68 billion, according to a company-compiled consensus survey.

Airbus has been facing industrial delays due partly to problems in the aerospace supply chain, which have also hampered the recovery of embattled U.S. rival Boeing.

The European planemaker said the production ramp-up of its A320 and A350 families faced short-term pressure due mainly to delays from U.S. supplier Spirit AeroSystems, which is in the process of being broken up between Airbus and its main customer Boeing. Airbus maintained all its medium-term output targets, however.

Airbus said it was delaying a new freighter version of its A350 wide-body jet by around a year to the second half of 2027, confirming a development delay previously reported by Reuters.

For 2025, Airbus forecast adjusted operating income of about 7 billion euros, excluding any impact from threatened trade tariffs but including the integration of Spirit, in a sign that a final deal to absorb some Airbus-related factories is close.

In Space, the latest charge brings to almost 2 billion euros the amount provisioned in two years on loss-making satellite projects, which industry sources have linked mainly to the OneSat programme of reprogrammable satellites.

Such losses have spurred talks to create a new venture grouping Airbus satellite activities with those of Thales Alenia Space to counter the runaway growth of Elon Musk's Starlink, though sources caution this may take some time.

Airbus also announced new charges of 121 million euros for the A400M, which has been hit by chronic delays, partial order cancellations by European launch nations and slow exports.

Airbus said it was assessing the potential impact of the uncertainty over orders on future manufacturing levels.

Industry sources say Airbus has enough orders to keep A400M assembly ticking over for about three years, but that time is running out for the European army plane barring a surge of new orders or reversals of budget cuts as Europe reviews defence spending under pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

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