Shipbuilding and engineering giant, Fincantieri has reported first half 2024 revenues of €3,681 mill, up 0.3% compared to €3,669 mill recorded in 1H23
EBITDA grew by 16% to €214 mill (€185 mill in 1H23), with a rise in the Equipment, Systems & Infrastructure sector amounting to €40 mill, around six times the performance achieved in 1H23) and Offshore (plus 37% year-on-year) segment.
EBITDA’s margin was at 5.8%, increasing significantly from the 5% reported in 1H23.
Fincantieri’s net financial position at €2,424 mill was marginally higher compared to FY 2023 (€2,271 mill).
The order intake at €7.6 bill was more than three times 1H23 orders (€2.1 bill) and was also higher than the entire FY 2023 (€6.6 bill).
Book to bill was x2.1 and the commercial pipeline is rapidly accelerating, driven by cruise and defence businesses. The backlog at €27.4 bill, was 19% higher, compared to FY 2023, with total backlog reaching a record level of €41.1 bill, about 5.4 times 2023 revenues.
Seven ships were delivered from five shipyards and 96 ships were in the shipbuilder’s orderbook portfolio with deliveries scheduled up to 2032.
Fincantieri also confirmed its 2024 targets for revenues and EBITDA margin and improved its guidance for leverage ratio. For example, revenues at around €8 bill, up by about 4.5%, while the EBITDA margin was forecast at around 6%.
The leverage ratio (NFP/EBITDA) was expected at between 4.5x and 5.5x (excluding the rights issue effect – value between 3.7x and 4.7x, including the temporary effect of the rights issue), an improvement when compared to the previous 2024 guidance between 5.5x and 6.5x.
Pierroberto Folgiero, Fincantieri’s CEO and General Manager, (pictured) commented: “Our performance in the first half of the year confirms and further improves the economic and financial results we ambitiously set in 2022 in our 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,” he said.
Fincantieri continued to deliver on the 2023/2027 Business Plan, with results fully in line with year-end targets, in a market context characterised by the recovery in cruise orders and significant opportunities, at national and international level, in the defence sector, the company said.
Fincantieri also enjoyed the consolidation in the cruise sector, with large orders won or in pipeline Its commercial strategy in the cruise sector remains highly successful, with major orders for medium and large capacity cruise ships and with important commercial agreements, which bring the Group’s total backlog visibility to 2036, ensuring its shipyards are full.
Among these was an agreement signed in April, 2024 with Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH), which marked a new page in Fincantieri’s history, with a contract that included six ships for the Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Oceania Cruises brands and a Letter of Intent for four large ships for the Norwegian Cruise Line brand, the latter with a gross tonnage of around 200,000.
Furthermore, on 23rd July, 2024, Fincantieri signed an agreement with Carnival Corp for the design, engineering and construction of three new cruise ships for the Carnival Cruise Line brand.
These belong to a new class of ship powered by LNG with a gross tonnage of about 230,000, which will be the largest ever built by Fincantieri. Deliveries are scheduled up to 2033.
