Fincantieri orderbook backlog nears US$45Bn

Orders rose from the cruise and defence segment and the group logged orders for 18 cruise vessels, up from 11 in the first six months of 2023. Notably, Carnival Corp booked three 23,000-gt vessels, among the Miami-based operator’s largest vessels to date.

The overall order backlog rose to a record € 41.1Bn (US$44.9Bn) at the end of June 2024 with about 96 vessels on order.

Revenues remained stable at €3.68Bn, representing a marginal increase of 0.3% compared with the first half of 2023. Shipbuilding revenue, amounting to 69.0% of the total, decreased due to changes made to the production schedule for some ships. 

The company reported a bottom-line loss of €27M, deeper red ink than the €22M logged a year earlier.

In the defence sector, Fincantieri secured two PPA units with the Indonesian Ministry of Defense worth €1.2Bn and additional frigates and submarines. 
In May, the Italian shipbuilder acquired aerospace firm Leonardo SpA’s Underwater Armament Systems business line. And last week, Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, the Fincantieri-Leonardo joint venture, won an order worth €1.5Bn to build two frigates for the Italian Navy. The joint venture was awarded the contract for two Fremm Evo multipurpose frigates by Occar, the European arms procurement agency representing France, Germany, Spain and Italy.

Fincantieri chief executive Pierroberto Folgiero said, “Our performance in the first half of the year confirms and further improves the economic and financial results we ambitiously set in our 2022 business plan. The initiatives pursued, a focused and strong management team, and our people’s sense of belonging at Fincantieri have driven margin improvement and cash generation.”

“These results, combined with a record commercial performance in all businesses, pave the way for a steady execution of the business plan. We are highly satisfied with the technological expansion in the underwater domain as well as in the energy and digital transition.”

New Group chairman appointed

Biagio Mazzotta, a senior official at Italy’s economy ministry, has been picked to become the new chairman of Fincantieri. Mr Mazzotta has previously served as Italy’s state accountant general. He replaces Claudio Graziano who died in June.