Cruise ships business pushes Fincantieri higher

Fincantieri revenues increased 19 per cent in the third quarter (from 12 months earlier) as the cruise ship business continued to perform strongly.

Chief Executive Officer Giuseppe Bono said the year-on-year growth was mainly attributable to the increase in the volumes of the cruise ships business due to the larger size of the vessels under construction (with revenues accounting for 51 per cent of revenues before consolidation adjustments).

The company has newbuild orders for 97 ships valued at more than 25 billion euros (US$29.1 million) and covering six years of work.

The decline in offshore revenues of eight per cent (compared with the first nine months of 2016) was due to the reduction in production volumes at Vard’s European and Brazilian shipyards, partly offset by the positive impact of changes in the Norwegian krone/Euro exchange rate (EUR10 million).

Fincantieri also increased its stake in the Vard Group from 55.63 per cent to 79.26 per cent.

The cooperation agreement reached between Italian and French governments, which will, “lead to the creation of a global leader in civil and military shipbuilding”, was another milestone, Bono said.

In the fourth quarter of 2017, the company expects the delivery of the first prototype for MSC Cruises (the largest ship ever built in Italy), the full-swing production for the Italian Navy’s fleet renewal program and the full swing of design activities for the Qatari Ministry of Defence contract.