Italian defence group Leonardo raised its full-year guidance after first-half orders jumped 44.6% to €16.3 billion, in the first results under Chief Executive Lorenzo Mariani, who took over in May following a government-backed board reshuffle.
Revenue rose 12% to €10 billion and net profit increased 74% to €476 million, with return on sales improving by 110 basis points to 7.6%.
The order backlog grew to around €59 billion, driven mainly by organic demand across helicopters, defence electronics and land systems — underlying order growth excluding acquisitions came in at close to 39%, against 44.6% including them.
Leonardo’s acquisition of Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV), the armoured and tactical vehicle business bought for about €1.6 billion and fully consolidated from 18 March, added a further €6 billion to the backlog.
Leonardo’s helicopter division booked €4.5 billion of new orders, up by a third year-on-year, including the UK Ministry of Defence’s New Medium Helicopter programme. Chief Executive Lorenzo Mariani said electronics and armaments businesses, including the group’s Oto Melara land systems activities, offered further growth opportunities as European defence spending increased, while cautioning that the timing of additional large Middle East orders remained uncertain.
“Growth in our order backlog, revenues and operating profitability, together with stronger cash generation, demonstrates the Group’s ability to execute programmes,” Mariani said.
Leonardo raised its full-year order guidance to €28.2 billion from €26.2 billion and lifted its EBITA and free cash flow targets, while maintaining revenue guidance at approximately €22.1 billion. Shares rose after the outlook upgrade.
The results extend a run of upgraded guidance across Europe’s listed defence sector this earnings season, as rising military budgets translate into contracts and stronger order books for major defence manufacturers.
Other recent positive results include BAE Systems, Airbus and Thales.
