Leonardo goes against the Milan trend. The share of the aerospace company up 3,13% is the best of the Ftse Mib. Following the announcement of a new order for the supply of AW169M LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) helicopters destined for the Austrian Ministry of Defense for a total of 346 million euros and contracts worth 260 million for German and Spanish aircraft radar for the development of new broadband capabilities, components of the new radar antenna (Antenna Power Supply & Control) and related processors. The first ECRS Mk1 radar will be produced in 2025 and the construction of the sensor modules will involve the sites of Nerviano, Edinburgh, Campi Bisenzio and Palermo.
The contract with Vienna provides for the delivery of 18 helicopters from the Leonardo plant in Vergiate (Varese), as well as a complete and dedicated support and training package for carrying out multi-role tasks. The first aircraft will be delivered by 2022 and the rest by 2026. In addition, the contract includes options for an additional 18 helicopters.
Added to this is the news that the company led by Alessandro Profumo is working on a plan to new investments from 300 million euros for the relaunch of the factories of aerostructures division, starting with that of Grottaglie, in Puglia, the most impacted by the consequences of the pandemic crisis on civil aviation.
The goal would be to diversify the production of the plant (where currently only the sections of the carbon fiber fuselage of the Boeing 787 are built), with prototypes of the solar powered drone capable of carrying a high payload. Thesis confirmed by the third meeting with the Spanish startup Skydweller. But also the carbon fiber wings of the Eurodrone programme, new laboratories for the study of advanced materials and the new joint Lab with Solvay on composite materials and new production processes considered fundamental for the future of the aerospace industry.
- Equita analysts they underlined that "the aerostructures division is at a structural loss and is mainly responsible for the limited free cash flow of the group, expected in 2021 at only 0,1 billion, with aerostructures absorbing between 350 and 400 million of liquidity". According to the experts, "the relaunch of this division is essential for a return of interest in the equity story which continues to deal with particularly cheap multiples".
