Off to the first floor of the Profumo era. Leonardo bets everything on the manager already in charge of Unicredit and Mps and restarts from the historic former AgustaWestland helicopter factory: it is from there, in Vergiate in the province of Varese, which was presented on industrial plan to 2022. A relatively long-term plan, five years, during which the declared objectives are those of "sustainable growth".
We are starting from a 2017 that was difficult, with the guidance confirmed and revenues and Ebita in the low range of the forecasts made in November. Orders expected in the end will be less than 12 billion, "due to delays related to the finalization of a contract for export C27J aircraft". It is no coincidence that the new final balance on last year has pushed the Stock Exchange to penalize the stock with a drop of 7,8%.
Among the problems that remain on the table, too the net debt which remains very high, always in line with the guidance at around 2,6 billion. Precisely for this reason, 2018 will above all be a year of consolidation, with orders on the rise but revenues stable and Edita growing only slightly to 1.075-1.125 billion. Cash flow will be limited to 100 million, mainly due to the reduction in advances from customers and investments to support growth.
An expected growth, in the period of the plan, more than 6% both on the order front and on the revenue front, while Ebita, i.e. the company's operating margin net of depreciation, interest and taxes, should also rise by 10%, with double-digit profitability as early as 2020. Cash flow will also start to recover in 2020, thanks to the full recovery of helicopters and above all to the maxi order for Eurofighter defense fighters in Kuwait.
To get to these results, Leonardo thought of a plan that aims first of all at a new “One Company” organizational model, through "strengthening the corporate structure and improving the commercial approach". The new model has been called Leonardo 2.0 and aims at: more integrated management, a more effective approach with international customers, targeted investments in technologies, rationalization of the product portfolio, with a focus on resources on the core business.
“After a challenging 2017 – he commented the managing director Alessandro Profumo – in which we reset expectations, with this plan we intend to bring Leonardo back to growth in the long term. We have a reference market with interesting growth profiles, we will aim to improve our excellent products, focusing on key technologies. 2018 will therefore be a year of consolidation, from which to lay the foundations for new growth".
