European aerospace group EADS forecast higher revenue and stable core operating profit as it boosts development spending this year, after bouncing back to profit with a record cash pile in 2010.

Europe's largest aerospace group posted higher than expected revenue of 45.8 billion euros ($63.65 billion), up 7 percent, in 2010 and operating profit of 1.231 billion, in line with market forecasts and led by a rebound in commercial aviation demand.

The Franco-German-led group restored a dividend of 22 euro cents after posting a net profit of 553 million euros.

Analysts were expecting EADS operating profit of 1.236 billion euros on revenue of 44.681 billion and net profit of 500 million, a Reuters poll found.

In 2009, EADS sank to a net loss of 800 million euros after taking provisions on delays to the Airbus A400M military plane.

Wednesday's results were overshadowed by a $29 billion slew of plane orders in the previous 24 hours, about half of which will benefit Airbus, the EADS planemaking subsidiary, with the rest scooped up by arch-rival Boeing .

EADS said recovery in commercial aircraft demand and the economy were stronger than expected but that it would need to monitor developments in North Africa, oil prices and currencies.

Its net cash surplus rose by more than 2 billion euros to 11.9 billion euros.

For 2011, EADS predicted unspecified growth in revenue and said operating profit before one-off items would be stable compared with 1.3 billion euros in 2010, before rising significantly the following year.

Increasing volume and prices at Airbus will be offset by increasing research and development spending, poorer currency hedge rates and weakness in defense, it said.

($1=.7195 Euro)

(Editing by James Regan)