Airbus says its close to picking final electronics bidder

Sale is a part of Airbus' plan to dispose of asssets as it struggles with low defence spending in Europe

Airbus Group is on the verge of selecting a final candidate to buy its defence electronics activities and expects to close a deal by the end of the month, strategy chief Marwan Lahoud said on Tuesday.

It has already whittled down 11 offers to half a dozen and expects to make a final selection "within hours", he told a news briefing, adding that this could mean 24, 48, 72 or 96 hours.

The sale is part of a plan by Airbus to dispose of assets with combined revenues of around 2 billion euros (£1.4 billion), as the aerospace group struggles with low defence spending in Europe. It lacks the scale of rivals in defence electronics.

Airbus Group chief executive Tom Enders told the same end-year briefing that Europe's largest planemaker stood by the struggling A380 superjumbo and hoped to sell more of them, but he ruled out an imminent decision on a possible upgrade.

Airbus continues to talk to Dubai's Emirates about its request for a re-engined version of the world's biggest jetliner, with industry sources pencilling in next July's 

Farnborough Airshow for a possible launch of the A380neo.

But Enders said the group would not build an aircraft for only one airline and that any business case must provide for robust margins on the jet, which is breaking even this year.

"Already more than a year ago, I established clear criteria for the A380neo: we need a clear business case to be met and we want more than one customer, and we are looking at that in cold blood," he said.

"This is not going to be an emotional decision; we are building these aircraft for customers who want these aircraft and are willing to pay a good price for these aircraft."

Enders said Airbus may miss its target of 15 A350 deliveries this year by one aircraft, because of ongoing problems with the supply of cabin equipment.

Airbus said in October it was on track to meet its delivery targets despite delays at cabin suppliers.

Both Enders and planemaking chief Fabrice Bregier have said the cabin delivery problems go beyond French seat maker Zodiac Aerospace , which has had a series of high-profile production delays and profit warnings this year.

For 2016, Enders said Airbus Group would focus on the challenges of ramping up production of its revamped A320neo and achieving a "significant" boost in output for the A350.