Shipbuilder Fincantieri confirms outlook as 2025 profit soars (updated)
25/03/2026 12:18
Italian shipbuilder posts more than fourfold profit jump CEO says company very active in M&A Cruise ship market unaffected by Middle East crisis Recasts with CEO comments from analyst call By Romolo Tosiani and Elvira Pollina MILAN, March 25 (Reuters) - Fincantieri FCT.MI is scouting for deals to speed up its expansion in the fast-growing underwater business, the head of the Italian shipbuilder said on Wednesday. The state-controlled company reported a more than fourfold jump in its annual profit to 117 million euros ($136 million), boosted by the underwater unit, where revenue rose 88%. "We are very active on M&A ... There are different possible transactions", Chief Executive Pierroberto Folgiero told analysts after the earnings release. He added Fincantieri was not pursuing a transformational deal, but focusing on smaller transactions to expand in the submarine business, including in non-defence markets. Folgiero pointed to propulsion systems, electronics and software for command-and-control, and telecommunications as areas where the company may seek acquisitions after completing a 500-million-euro capital increase last month. Fincantieri has sharpened its focus on defence and high-margin naval programmes over the past year amid rising geopolitical tensions, while also benefiting from a recovery in cruise-ship demand, as part of a broader push to improve profitability, cut debt and reposition the group. Order intake reached 20.3 billion euros last year, up 32% from 2024. Folgiero said Romania and Greece were interested in joining the European Patrol Corvette project, which Fincantieri is developing with Spain's state-held Navantia to create a new class of patrol vessels. On cruise ships, he said sentiment among ship owners remained buoyant despite the Middle East crisis. "We continue to see a lot of energy, a lot of interest in occupying future slots," he said. Shares of the Trieste-based company closed around 6% higher after gaining as much as 7.5% following the results. ($1 = 0.8613 euros) (Reporting by Elvira Pollina in Milan, Romolo Tosiani and Mirko Miorelli in Gdansk. Additional reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome. Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak, Alvise Armellini and Mark Potter) ((Mirko.miorelli@thomsonreuters.com))