Finance
Italy's Leonardo lifts guidance for next four years, alliances seen key to growth
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on March 11, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 24, 2026
Leonardo raises its growth forecast, emphasizing strategic alliances in defense and aerospace, with a focus on defense electronics and space technologies.
By Giulia Segreti
ROME (Reuters) - Italy's Leonardo on Tuesday lifted its guidance for the next four years as the defence and aerospace group continues to look at broad international alliances and cooperation with peers to boost its growth.
The state-controlled company aims to "update the concept of traditional defence", it said, focusing on its core business of defence electronics and helicopters as well as developing digital and space technologies, seen as key for future warfare.
"The start of the alliances and international partnerships undertaken in recent months is the element enabling us to accelerate our development," Chief Executive Roberto Cingolani said in a statement.
Since launching its ambitious five-year industrial plan in March last year, the company has signed a joint venture for the development and manufacturing of military combat vehicles with Germany's Rheinmetall and a partnership with Turkey's Baykar to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
It has also set up a joint company with Britain and Japan to develop, design and build an advanced stealth jet and is exploring plans with France's Airbus and Thales to set up a new joint space company.
"This type of inorganic growth is proving to be a key factor for global competitiveness, especially in light of the recent evolution of the international geopolitical context," Cingolani added.
Over the 2025-2029 period Leonardo sees cumulative orders rising to 118 billion euros ($129 billion). Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation (EBITA) are expected to grow cumulatively by 13.1% between 2023 and 2029.
The recently-created space division is forecast to have an order and revenue growth of 9% and 10% respectively over the course of the plan to 2029, in a market that is expected to grow by some 7% annually until 2030.
Its loss-making aerostructures division, which has in recent years suffered from the fall-out from Boeing's problems, is seen reaching a core profit break-even by the end of 2028 through business diversification and the restructuring of its supply chain.
Earlier on Tuesday Leonardo said revenues this year would rise to around 18.6 billion euros and new orders to 21 billion euros.
The company expects EBITA profit of around 1.66 billion euros in 2025, it added. ($1 = 0.9152 euros)
(Writing by Giulia Segreti, editing by Cristina Carlevaro and Keith Weir)
Leonardo expects revenues this year to rise to around 18.6 billion euros and new orders to 21 billion euros.
The company anticipates an EBITA profit of around 1.66 billion euros in 2025.
Leonardo aims to achieve growth through international alliances and partnerships, which are seen as key to accelerating development.
The newly-created space division is expected to have an order growth of 9% and revenue growth of 10% by 2029.
The aerostructures division has been loss-making and is expected to reach core profit break-even by the end of 2028 through business diversification.
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