AIRBUS shareholders could be forced to pump more money into the struggling aircraft maker in the medium term, to fund the recovery of its main aircraft programmes.

That is the conclusion of BAE Systems’ board, after it asked PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) to conduct an independent audit of the European aircraft maker, to help the British defence company to decide whether it wanted to proceed with the sale of its 20 per cent stake in the group.

BAE declared last night that it would proceed with the sale, after a unanimous decision by the board, despite the unexpectedly low valuation of £1.9 billion put on the stake by NM Rothschild, the investment bank, in July, which was confirmed by the PWC audit.

The defence group, which believes that making commercial aircraft is no longer part of its core business, added that if it did not sell now it might be forced to hold on to the stake for “an extended period” to be sure of getting materially more than £1.9 billion.

BAE said: “Airbus is facing a challenging short to medium-term outlook. Inevitably, there are risks involved in such a recovery programme and, having reviewed the audit, the board is concerned about the possible cash requirements of the Airbus business.”

Since BAE decided to exercise its put option in Airbus, EADS, the 80 per cent owner of Airbus, has revealed a new version of the A350 aircraft, to satisfy customer requirements. The costs of the new jet, known as the A350XWB (extra wide body), are put at €8 billion (£5.4 billion), €3 billion higher than the earlier model.

BAE’s concerns over a fresh cash injection are understood to allude to this increased cost. BAE would also have to help to fund any successor to the workhorse of the Airbus fleet, the narrow-bodied A320, which will need to be replaced when Boeing launches a new aircraft in this segment of the market to succeed the 737.

The weakness of the dollar has affected the profitability of Airbus and raised the break-even point on new programmes.

BAE said that after repaying outstanding debts between itself and Airbus, and the payment of costs related to the stake sale, the company would collect £1.2 billion. It intends to return £500 million to shareholders, through share buybacks, the company said.

A spokesman from EADS said: “We are now approaching the final phase of the put option process. It is the BAE shareholders that now have to make the final decision.”

The vote will be taken at an extraordinary shareholders meeting likely to be held late this month, with proceeds of the sale to be received not more than ten days later.

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