UPDATE 4-EADS Q3 dips, stays cautious on FY

* Q3 EBIT before one-offs 381 mln euros, Q3 net loss 87 mln

* No FY EBIT guidance, too much uncertainty

* "Cautiously envisaging" economic improvement in next mths

* Confirms FY 2009 300 gross aircraft order estimate

* EADS shares up 3.27 pct on good cash position

By Helen Massy-Beresford and Matthias Blamont (Adds extra comments from conference call, updates shares)

PARIS, Nov 16 (Reuters) - EADS (EAD.PA) unveiled a 77-percent drop in third-quarter core profit on Monday, hurt by the downturn in civil aviation, the weak dollar and delays to its A400M programme. [ID:nLG464923]

Core earnings of 201 million euros ($301 million) beat forecasts but Europe's largest aerospace group passed on full-year guidance, citing uncertainty over the impact of delays to the A400M and A380 programmes on the fourth quarter. [ID:nLB254530]

Investors welcomed positive news on cash consumption and by 1131 GMT the shares were up 3.27 percent at 13.58 euros. The CAC-40 index .FCHI was 0.81 percent higher.

"The company's cash performance is fabulous; they deserve an enormous amount of credit for that," said RBS analyst Sandy Morris. Net cash stood at 8.1 billion euros at the end of the third quarter, unchanged since the end of the first half.

CURRENCY FEARS

But the group will be facing a "big currency headwind" in 2010, Morris warned, and the market may not have taken on board the likely impact of the weakening dollar in 2010.

"It is indeed probably one of our biggest headaches today -- the level of the euro/dollar," chief financial officer Hans Peter Ring told a conference call.

EADS, which traditionally prices in dollars, said the weakening of the greenback was "challenging" its performance "because of a weakening hedge book over time" but the currency issue was not a short-term threat.

EADS chief executive Louis Gallois told France 24 TV: "We have to face facts: one euro at $1.50 is a very big difficulty for the European aerospace industry. The consequence is obviously that we carry out cost cutting plans."

"If it continues, there is also pressure to outsource production," he added.

EADS said oil price increases and the wider economic environment affected commercial aircraft customers but that it was "cautiously envisaging" an improvement of economic and market conditions in the next months.

Many airlines have been forced to ground planes and cancel or defer aircraft orders to cope with high oil prices in tandem with a global downturn that has reduced demand for travel.

EADS maintained its estimate of up to 300 gross aircraft orders in 2009 and said it expected to deliver around 490 aircraft this year.

Emirates airline [EMIRA.UL] said at the Dubai Airshow it was in talks with Airbus and U.S. rival Boeing (BA.N) to buy "tens of planes", possibly 777s and A330s as it prepares for the global recovery.

The Arab world's largest airline already has $55 billion of orders with the two manufacturers. [ID:nLG374627]

EADS said it was still working with customers to establish a delivery target for 2010, including the A380 superjumbo programme. Emirates is the biggest customer for the A380, with 58 aircraft on order.

EBIT before one-offs, which EADS says gives an underlying flavour of the business, was 381 million euros in the third quarter, compared with a forecast of 296 million. It said EBIT before one-offs should be around 2 billion in the full year.

The company said increased volumes and savings linked to its Airbus Power8 cost-cut plan were not enough to compensate for worsening hedge rates, increased costs and falling prices on aircraft deliveries.

EBIT for the first nine months was 1.089 billion euros, around half the result last year, was hit by currency change.

The group said third-quarter EBIT last year had been supported by 965 million euros from the revaluation of loss-making contract provisions at the closing spot rate.

The Airbus parent took a further 224 million euros in provisions in the first nine months of 2009 for delays to its A400M military transport project, on top of the 2.3 billion euros already booked.

Group revenues slid 2 percent to 9.528 billion euros in the third quarter, and the group posted a net loss of 87 million. ($1=.6677 euros) (Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford and Matthias Blamont; Additional Reporting by James Regan; editing by David Cowell)