The Fincantieri shipyard works on a cruise ship under construction at the Monfalcone shipyard near Trieste in northeastern Italy.
MILAN, July 27 (Reuters) – Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri ( FCT.MI ) reported a first-half net loss of 234 million euros ($237 million) on Wednesday, vowing to reduce debt by delivering new ships.
Chief Executive Pieroberto Folgero, who took over from long-serving predecessor Giuseppe Bono earlier this year, said the company would focus on its core business to take advantage of expected growth in defense spending and a post-pandemic recovery in the offshore market.
Analysts at Intesa Sanpaolo said the planned strategic review of Fincantieri’s non-core businesses, such as infrastructure, would lead to an expansion of the shipbuilding division.
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Shares were down 6.5% in the morning, hit by concerns over higher debt levels in the broadly flat Milan All-Share Index (.FTITLMS). Read more
The group, controlled by Italian state lender CDP, had net financial debt of 3.3 billion euros at the end of June, up from 2.2 billion euros at the end of last year.
The increase in debt is mainly due to working capital volatility in the shipping business, the company said, adding payment extensions to customers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Net debt is likely to improve slightly by the end of the year, Folgiro told analysts, noting that five new ships are expected in the second half and that there will be savings to offset rising raw material costs.
Despite a positive business performance in the first half of 2022, it posted a first-half loss despite revenue growth of 16 percent year-on-year. Read more
($1 = 0.9855 EUR)
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Reporting by Francesco Zecchini; Edited by Valentina Za and Kit Ware
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
