Avio in the spotlight: the market rewards the return to profit

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) -Avio in the spotlight on the Milan Stock Exchange: the aerospace company’s shares boast the best performance on the FTSE MIB, although from their peak at the end of May, around 43 euros, the shares have lost over 30 per cent, affected by the performance of SpaceX, which, after initial gains on Wall Street, has gone into a downward trend, falling back to almost its initial public offering price of $135.

It was announced yesterday that Avio closed the first half of the year with a net profit of 9.2 million euros, compared with a net loss of €187,000 a year ago, on net revenue up 17.5 per cent to €276 million, in line with forecasts. The net financial position at the end of June stood at 535.7 million, down 56 million compared with 31 December 2025, due to investments made during the period and the partial transfer to suppliers of advance payments received in the final quarter of 2025.

The company also announced that new orders secured during the period totalled 160 million, more than two-thirds of which related to defence-related production and development contracts, with the remainder mainly comprising development contracts for the Vega-C launch vehicle. The order book as at June stood at 2.048 billion, down 5.4 per cent compared with December.

Senior management has confirmed the guidance for 2026, which estimates the order book at between 2 and 2.1 billion, net revenue at between 560 and 590 million, adjusted EBITDA of between 29 and 37 million (27–35 million reported) and net profit of between 8 and 13 million. It was also announced that the closing of Advent’s investment in Avio’s share capital will take place ‘soon’, as the company has recently received the necessary regulatory approvals to complete the transaction.

Intermonte, whilst describing the half-year results as in line with expectations, recommends buying the shares (‘Outperform’), for which it sets a target price of 39 euros. This figure, however, has been lowered from the previous target of 42 euros. “We continue to regard Avio as one of the most interesting names for gaining exposure to structural growth in the aerospace and defence sectors,” explained the analysts, who praised the company’s financial results and order book, as well as its partnership with Advent. They also made a point of noting that the revision of the target price is linked solely to the re-rating of sector multiples.