The Fincantieri market is growing more and more, one of the leading shipbuilding groups in the world and a reference operator in both Italian civil and military shipbuilding. A new leap in quality comes from the agreement just concluded with Finmeccanica, which provides for the maxi-order for the renewal plan of the Italian Navy's fleet: for the construction of six patrol vessels with an additional four as an option and a logistic support unit, Fincantieri and Finmeccanica will receive a total of around 3,5 billion euro, of which the share of the CEO's company Giuseppe Bono is equal to approximately 2,3 billion euros.
However, Fincantieri's strategy expands well beyond the borders of Italy: in particular in the United States, where as part of the US Navy's Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme, the Italian company - in partnership with Lockheed Martin Corporation – has recently signed a contract for the construction of two additional units, for a total value that now exceeds 230 million dollars. The LCS program is one of the main shipbuilding programs for the United States Navy and involves the supply of a new generation of medium-sized multi-purpose ships, particularly innovative and suitable for use both for coastal surveillance and defense activities and for operations in deep sea in different types of missions.
Again in the States, the Italian group guaranteed itself an important M&A operation in 2008: it acquired the Manitowoc Marine Group (MMG) from the parent company The Manitowoc Company, Inc (listed on the New York Stock Exchange) for 120 million dollars. MMG is one of the leading medium-sized shipbuilders in the US United States and serves civilian customers and government agencies, including the US Navy and Coast Guard with two shipyards in Wisconsin and a repair yard in Cleveland, Ohio. At the time of the operation, MMG employed approximately 1600 people and in 2007 achieved revenues of approximately $320 million.
Fincantieri also operates in the international French-Italian FREMM program (European Multi-Mission Frigates), where it is active Horizon Naval Systems SpA, the joint venture between Fincantieri (51%) and Finmeccanica (49%): in April the company received from OCCAR (the Joint Organization for Armaments Cooperation) the communication of the exercise of the option for the construction of the ninth and tenth units, to complete the supply to the Italian Navy of a series of 10 ships. The value of the order for Orizzonte Sistemi Navali SpA is equal to 764 million euros and delivery is scheduled for 2020.
In all, thanks to the new Naval law, the State has recently allocated 5,4 billion euros for the renewal of the Navy fleet. "Considering the effort that the Italian State makes - recently declared the managing director of Fincantieri, Giuseppe Bono -, we expect that our workers and those of all the companies that benefit from these orders will take steps to allow the achievement of a level of efficiency such as to make it possible to reduce the costs of the final product, to the benefit of the whole country". “The Italian-French program for the new European Multi-Mission Frigates (FREMM) – he added the CEO of Finmeccanica Mauro Moretti – is the most important naval military program ever implemented at European level. The systems produced by Finmeccanica and embarked on the various naval units make it possible to manage different and constantly evolving operational scenarios with cutting-edge technologies”.
Today Fincantieri is awaited by an important board of directors, the second in 2015 and the first after the appointment, which took place at the meeting of 16 February, of the new one general manager Andrea Mangoni. The company, listed on Piazza Affari since 2014, will also present its first quarter accounts.
