Airbus delivered 661 planes in 2022, well below the 720 originally planned due to supplier difficulties, and won 820 net orders last year, the European plane maker said on Tuesday, as quoted by AFP.

Deliveries were up 8% compared to 2021, when the group began ramping up production following shutdowns due to the Covid-19 pandemic. In terms of orders, the 2022 result is Airbus’ best since 2017.

The results put Airbus ahead of its major U.S. rival Boeing, which delivered 480 aircraft to customers in 2022, up 40% from the previous year, with 808 net orders.

“We are clearly below target, but given the complexity of our operating environment, I would like to thank our teams and partners for their efforts and the results achieved,” said Airbus Chief Executive Guillaume Faury.

Deliveries are a reliable indicator of profitability in the aerospace industry, as customers pay most of the bill when they receive the aircraft.