ROME (Reuters) -Italy’s Leonardo achieved positive and “promising” results last year, its chief executive said on Thursday, after the defence and aerospace conglomerate beat its 2023 targets for orders, cash flow and debt.
The group also met its revenue and core profitability goals.
“In general results are good mostly due to actions taken in recent years, (they are) promising in view of the industrial plan, but there is a lot of space for improvement,” CEO Roberto Cingolani said in a post-results call.
Orders were up 3.8% year-on-year in 2023 to 17.9 billion euros ($19.34 billion), lifted by European electronics and a significant helicopter sale in Poland. The group had guided for about 17 billion euros.
Leonardo’s net debt was down more than 23% compared to the same period in 2022 to 2.3 billion euros, a reduction helped by the sale in November of a minority stake of about 8% in its DRS unit.
Earning before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) was up 5.8% year-on-year to 1.29 billion euros – in the centre of its guidance range.
“We are in the presence of a special window of opportunity as the defence industry is now part of global security and we have to develop a strategy in line with this,” Cingolani said.
The new strategy to 2028, to be unveiled on March 12, is expected to continue focusing on alliances with other defence groups in Europe, steer the company towards the space business – increasingly considered key for defence and security – and give Leonardo a stronger technology-based profile.
Shares in Leonardo have risen more than 33% since the beginning of the year, at a time when military budgets are increasing, boosted by the war in Ukraine.
($1 = 0.9258 euros)
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gavin Jones)
