EADS raises outlook despite drop in Q2 profit

PARIS (AP) — EADS NV, the parent company of plane-maker Airbus, raised its outlook for 2010 — despite a 61 percent drop in second quarter earnings — as a rash of new aircraft orders boosted hopes that a painful two-year downturn is over.

"We feel more comfortable for the full year now," Chief Financial Officer Hans Peter Ring said Friday in a conference call with journalists.

Airbus said it hopes to capture more than 400 gross orders this year — that's 100 more than its previous forecast.

To keep up, it plans to increase production of its main money-earner, the single-aisle A320. By 2012, it plans to be manufacturing 40 planes per month, up from 34 today.

Louis …