The Italian aeronautics and defense giant Leonardo announced on Tuesday that in 2020 it recorded a net profit of 243 million euros, down 70.4%, under the effect of the coronavirus pandemic, a crisis
"unprecedented"
sanitation
.
Read also: Leonardo: net profit up sharply in 2019 but caution in the outlook
This result is lower than the expectations of analysts, who expected a net profit of 346 million euros, according to financial information provider Factset Estimates.
In the fourth quarter, net profit fell 70.3% to 106 million euros, again below the expectations of analysts who were forecasting 242 million euros.
As for Leonardo's turnover, it amounted in 2020 to 13.41 billion euros, down 2.7%.
The military branch of the group
"has shown resilience and allowed us to obtain the expected results despite the effects of the Covid on the civilian branch"
, commented Alessandro Profumo, the boss of Leonardo, quoted in a
press
release.
"We approached the complex environment of 2020 with good results in terms of orders, which amounted to 13.8 billion euros, and revenue,"
he noted.
The order book has reached 35.5 billion euros, which guarantees Leonardo (ex-Finmeccanica) the equivalent of two and a half years of production.
As for operating profit (Ebita), it fell in 2020 by 25% to 938 million euros.
New orders of 14 billion euros expected
The group being considered strategic, it has never ceased its activities, even during the most serious moments of the Covid-19 pandemic, but it has suffered slowdowns in its production.
For 2021, Leonardo is targeting new orders of 14 billion euros, a turnover of 13.8 to 14.3 billion euros and an Ebita of 1.07 to 1.12 billion euros.
This scenario is, however, based on the assumption
"of an improvement in the global health situation which will result in a gradual normalization of operating and market conditions"
.
Net debt increased in 2020 by 16.5% to 3.3 billion euros, a figure that the group intends to reduce to 3.2 billion in 2021.
Alessandro Profumo was sentenced in mid-October to six years in prison for price manipulation and false communication, facts that he was accused of when he was president of the BMPS bank.
This conviction at first instance should not have any immediate repercussions on his post, the group having "expressed its total confidence in him and wishing to see him continue in his functions".
