The French aero engine maker has traditionally produced slightly different forecasts in French and English versions of its results, using terms such as "low teens" or "high single digits" in English and specific numerical targets in French because of translation issues.

On Wednesday, it said it was looking for 2019 recurring operating income growth in the "low teens" in the English version of its annual results press release and 10-12 percent in the French version.

Chief Executive Philippe Petitcolin told a news conference that "low teens" meant that Safran was aiming for growth of around 12 percent and added that the English formula was the official version for investors.

Some analysts had queried the apparent difference in the forecasts between the English and French versions, noting that "teen" typically means 13 to 19 - figures ending in "teen".

Petitcolin separately said that he hoped Boeing would take a decision on engine choices for a possible new mid-sized jet by June, which he described as the latest approximate date needed to be able to fit smoothly within Boeing's development schedule.

Boeing has said it will make a decision on whether to launch the potential new plane in 2020 with the aim of entering service in 2025, by when many airlines will be replacing existing jets.

It has also said it may make a decision on whether to start making conditional offers for the plane to gauge market support this year. Industry sources say an engine choice is most often made before pre-selling a new plane in this way.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta)