Fincantieri net profit triples to €102m in H1 2026, underwater business drives growth

Profit triples on margin expansion

Fincantieri closed the first half of 2026 with net profit of €102 million, nearly three times the €35 million recorded in the same period of 2025. The adjusted net profit, excluding extraordinary items, reached €113 million, up from €48 million a year earlier. EBITDA rose 12.5% to €350 million, lifting the EBITDA margin to 7.6% from 6.8% in H1 2025. The improvement was driven by a one-percentage-point margin increase in the shipbuilding segment and organic growth in the underwater business. Net financial charges fell to €73 million from €80 million, helped by lower average cost of debt, while income from equity investments jumped to €26 million from €3 million, including a €23 million extraordinary gain from the sale of the stake in the CSSC-Fincantieri Cruise Industry Development joint venture.

Revenue stable, underwater segment surges

Group revenues were essentially flat at €4.58 billion, compared with €4.576 billion in H1 2025, which had benefited from a contract with the Indonesian navy. The second quarter saw a significant acceleration, consistent with the planned ramp-up of production volumes to work through the existing backlog. Within the mix, the cruise and offshore segment grew 22.4%, systems, components and infrastructure rose 16.2%, and the underwater segment, on a like-for-like perimeter, jumped 29.9% to €356 million, with an EBITDA of €60 million and a margin of 17.0%. Shipbuilding revenue declined 5.9%.

Acquisitions build underwater platform

The underwater business is set to expand further following the early July agreements to acquire majority stakes in Next Geosolutions, WSense, Graal Tech and Defcomm. The acquisitions, financed by a roughly €500 million capital increase completed in February, involve an initial outlay of €600 million and are expected to contribute €60 million to 2026 profit and €130 million by 2030. On a pro-forma basis, the underwater segment is projected to reach €1.1 billion in revenue in 2026. CEO Pierroberto Folgiero noted strong demand for submarine cable ships, particularly hybrid vessels capable of both laying and repairing cables.

We are receiving strong solicitations and numerous requests for ships related to the submarine cable sector; in particular for vessels with hybrid capabilities, able not only to lay cables but also to repair them.

Order book at €74 billion, guidance confirmed

The total workload reached €74 billion, up 17% from the end of 2025 and equivalent to about eight times 2025 revenues. The backlog stood at €43 billion, a 4.7% increase, with 92 ships in the portfolio and deliveries stretching to 2036, or 2039 including the Princess Cruises order signed in April 2026. New orders finalized since the start of the year amounted to €6.1 billion, with an additional €5 billion in potential orders from Portugal for FREMM frigates and from the Italian Navy for destroyers. The adjusted net financial position improved to a debt of €756 million from €1.311 billion at year-end 2025. Fincantieri confirmed its full-year 2026 targets: revenues of €9.3-9.4 billion, EBITDA of €700-710 million, an EBITDA margin of 7.5%, net profit of €140-180 million, and an adjusted net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.0x, or 1.3x including the capital increase.

CEO sees solid platform

Folgiero said the results confirm that growth is increasingly matched by expanding profitability.

The first half 2026 results confirm that Fincantieri's growth is increasingly accompanied by a strong expansion of profitability and value creation capacity. Net profit, nearly tripled compared to the same period last year, testifies to the effectiveness of the path undertaken and our ability to translate the deep visibility of the order book into concrete results.

He added that the underwater business is making the group's industrial profile more solid and balanced, and that with a backlog of €74 billion and delivery visibility to 2039, the company can rely on a robust platform.