MUNICH -- European Aerospace concern Eads reported Monday that the world aviation crisis and high one-off costs sent the company into the red in 2002, with the company now planning more job reductions.

The European Aeronautic Defense and Space Company said its net loss came to 299 million euros (330 million dollars), compared with a profit in 2001 of 1.37 billion euros.

In the wake of the downturn in results, the company said it would reduce dividends this year to 0.30 euros, from last year's 0.50 euros payout.

Company cochairmen Rainer Hertrich and Philippe Camus said in Munich that Eads is bracing for another year of a difficult business environment, amid the ongoing crisis in the aviation sector.

"We have prepared Eads for a possible further weakening of the business climate in 2003," they said.

Eads operating profits in 2002 were 1.43 billion euros, down 16 percent from 1.69 billion euros the year before. The results came on revenues of 29.9 billion euros, down 3 percent from 30.8 billion euros in 2001.

Eads said it expects steady operating results for 2003.

The company said that the space technology division accounted for 268 million euros of the losses last year, compared with a loss of 222 million euros in 2001.

It said that in the space technology division, a further 1,700 jobs are to be cut, bringing total payroll reductions in the division to 3,300. The division workforce now stands at 12,500.

At the plane making subsidiary airbus, operating results fell to 1.4 billion euros, from 1.6 billion euros in 2001. New orders for airbus fell 60 percent below 20 billion euros. But airbus hopes to deliver more than 300 planes this year to surpass American rivals Boeing for the first time.

Total new orders for the Eads concern came to just over 31 billion euros, down 48 percent from 60.2 billion euros in 2001. End-2002 order book volume stood at 168.3 billion euros, down from 183.3 billion euros a year earlier. Eads has its headquarters in Amsterdam, with its main operations in Munich, Paris and Madrid. At the end of 2002, it had a worldwide payroll of just under 104,000. (DPA)