PARIS, Feb 12 (Reuters) - The world's largest commercial

turboprop maker, Franco-Italian ATR, delivered 35 aircraft last

year, just shy of the 36 handed to customers in 2023, and said

on Wednesday it would pause efforts to ramp up production as it

addresses problems in its supply chain.

ATR, which is jointly owned by Airbus and Leonardo

, is the latest aircraft manufacturer to highlight

supply problems as the aerospace industry struggles to regain

industrial momentum after the pandemic.

It had targeted about 40 deliveries in 2024. It did not give

a numerical target for 2025, saying it would focus on

stabilising production at current levels, which are well below

the peak of around 80 aircraft a year before the pandemic.

"When I look at 2025, I would say that the context is still

very difficult so (the) supply chain situation as we see it will

remain tense in some areas, but we see some areas of

improvement," CEO Nathalie Tarnaud Laude told a press

conference.

"This year we will stabilize production at the level where

we were and start to prepare for the rampup in the second part

of the year. Our ambition is to ramp up to a high level of

production."

ATR is the dominant producer of regional turboprop planes,

with a family of aircraft seating 42 to 78 people.

The company also pushed back the target date for a proposed

hybrid-propulsion version of its family of aircraft to 2035 from

2030, citing the lack of available engine technology,

FlightGlobal reported.

The move comes days after Airbus suspended a flagship

proposal to develop a new regional hydrogen-powered aircraft for

five to 10 years.

Commercial momentum remains strong and ATR aims to continue

to add to its order book in 2025, Tarnaud Laude said.

ATR reported 56 new orders in 2024, up from 40 a year

earlier. After cancellations, it posted 53 net orders for 2024.