Back to the origins for Flavio Cattaneo and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. The two managers, after the tormented experiences in Tim and Alitalia, in fact return to the helm of Italo.
The board awarded the top manager – which he got 25 million severance pay from Tim – full powers and all the necessary delegations to put the private company on the right track, after overcoming the crisis of the last year.
The return of Flavio Cattaneo is accompanied by a capital increase of around 15 million which will allow the manager and shareholder to bring his stake from the current 2,1% to 5,1% of Ntv's capital "demonstrating the commitment and confidence in the company's future development” underlines the press release with which the company, a competitor of FS, formalized the operation. Luca di Montezemolo, on the other hand, owns 12% of the capital.
The new appointments therefore mark the great return of Cattaneo as managing director and of Montezemolo as president. The objective is to guide the company in a phase of further growth with the arrival of new trains in the fleet.
In fact, Italo is awaited for a decisive period from a strategic point of view, which foresees the relaunch of activities and the arrival of the new Alstom Pendolino in the fleet in the next 12 months. The new train will allow the use of both new and old generation lines. An innovative model built entirely in our country between Savignano, Sesto San Giovanni and Bologna.
Cattaneo had been appointed managing director of Ntv in February 2015, preparing the restructuring and relaunch plan which led to the first operating profit in 2015. The top manager then left his position in April 2016. Montezemolo is one of the founders of Ntv of which he was president until the autumn of 2012.
In addition to the new appointments, the Board approved the all positive figures for the half-year as at 30.06.2017: revenues grew to 219,2 million against 174,7 million in the same period of the previous year, with an increase of 25,5% , Ebitda rose to 65,1 million against 42 million in the first half of 2016, with an increase of 54,9%.
Andrea Faragalli Zenobi will leave his position as president on 30 September, for strictly personal reasons: "Those in NTV - he declared - have been years full of satisfactions, thanks also to the support and trust of the Board of Directors and a team of managers from a value that has gradually been able to assume increasing responsibilities. Today the NTV that I am leaving as President is a successful company that looks to new and important goals with confidence”.
(updated at 13,00 on Wednesday 20 September)
