EADS profits from Airbus results

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European aerospace group EADS has reported a three-month profit, helped by improved results from its passenger plane unit Airbus.

EADS posted a net profit of 285m euros ($440m; £227m) for the first quarter of 2008, compared with a loss of 10m euros in the same period last year.

Much of the improvement came from Airbus, which had a better-than-expected quarter.

EADS chief executive Louis Gallois said the results were "encouraging".

But he added: "Though many serious challenges have been overcome there remains much to do in order to secure the significant and lasting improvement in operational performance we are targeting."

Among the challenges facing EADS is the weakness of the US dollar against the euro, which is a particular problem for a company that sells its products in dollars but pays most of its bills in euros.

The results came the day after Airbus warned that its customers faced further delays in the delivery of its A380 aircraft.

More time and resources were needed to increase production, the company said, which would result in fewer deliveries than planned during 2008 and 2009.