Airbus on track to double profit margins by 2015 - CEO

Airbus is on track to more than double its profit margins by 2015, partly by giving more autonomy to local production managers to boost efficiency, Chief Executive Fabrice Bregier told the Wall Street Journal.

Bregier said he was confident that Airbus would increase its operating margin within two years to 10 percent, excluding the cost of launching the group's new A350 jetliner.

In the year through May, Airbus delivered 247 planes, almost 10 per cent more than in the same period last year.

Bregier said it was a sign that changes being made to the company's operations were paying off.

Airbus recaptured the aircraft industry's top spot in the first quarter of 2013 as US rival Boeing fell behind on orders and grappled with the grounding of its newest jet, the 787 Dreamliner.

(Reporting by Leila Abboud; editing by Tom Pfeiffer)