The head of European aerospace and defense group EADS said on Wednesday he expects profit to recover from 2012 after being held back by hedging, programme costs and government spending restraint.

Underlying profitability this year will be in the same range as the target for 2010, Louis Gallois told a news conference.

Last year, order streams were better than expected and cashflow generation was excellent, though operating profitability was not satisfactory, Gallois said.

Gallois added that the Airbus A380 superjumbo programme was out of the woods and reiterated its target to start deliveries of its A350 aircraft in the second half of 2013.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan)