Italian shipbuilding and engineering firm Fincantieri suffered a net loss of €137 mill on revenues of €2.4 bill for the the first half of this year.
This compares to net income of €47 mill on revenues of €2.8 bill for 1H19.
The loss was attributed to the temporary suspension of production in the spring of this year, which had a €790 mill negative impact on revenues.
The shipbuilding segment posted a 17.5% drop in revenues, including a 13.5% decrease in revenues from cruise shipbuilding, the group said.
The cruise shipbuilding revenue trend reflected the acceleration in production activities in the early months of 2020 to meet the heavy backlog and scheduled deliveries, the subsequent production downtime due to COVID-19 and then the gradual resumption of production from 20th April, 2020 onward.
As of 30th June, 2020, cruise ships represented 57% of the company’s revenues, up from 56% recorded last year.
During the first half of this year, Fincantieri delivered 10 ships from seven different yards, including three cruise ships -’Seven Seas Splendo’r, ‘Scarlet Lady’ and ‘Le Bellot’.
In addition, Fincantieri’s Vard subsidiary delivered ‘Le Jacques Cartier’ to Ponant in July, completing a series of six ships, which were built in two years.
There were no order cancellations, the shipbuilder said, while three newbuildings are scheduled to be delivered during the second half of 2020.
Fincantieri’s total order backlog is 117 ships, including 41 cruise ships for deliveries through 2027.
For the second half of this year, Fincantieri expects production volumes at its Italian yards to be in line with those before the COVID-19 outbreak.
During 1H20, Fincantieri announced that it had developed a new series of tunnel thrusters specifically dedicated to the cruise market. They were described as quiet, efficient, reliable and environmentally sustainable.
