The defence sector is back on the rise, with the sector rebounding across Europe
Fincantieri’s share price rises on news that Portugal is to purchase three Evo frigates from the Italian group
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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Leonardo is in the spotlight on the Milan Stock Exchange, in line with the defence sector, which is benefiting from renewed tensions in the Middle East. The shares of the company led by Lorenzo Mariani are among the best performers on FTSE MIB and has gained over three points, but Avio and Fincantieri in Milan, as well as Thales in Paris (+1.2%), Rheinmetall in Frankfurt (+1.7 per cent) and Babcock International in London (+6.9 per cent).
To begin with, at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK, Leonardo announced an order for 11 AW139 helicopters from The Helicopter Company (THC), a subsidiary of the Saudi sovereign wealth fund PIF. The contract is worth an estimated €200 million – according to Banca Akros – and deliveries are scheduled for between 2027 and 2028. The new order follows the framework agreement signed between Thc and Leonardo during the HAI HeliExpo (now Verticon) in 2024. The helicopters will be configured for civil missions, including search and rescue, VIP transport and offshore services. “The new order,” analysts point out, “is equivalent to around 0.4 per cent of the group’s order book and around 1 per cent of estimated revenue for 2026”.
Fincantieri, however, is buoyed by the words of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who – in joint statements with the Portuguese Prime Minister, Luis Montenegro, yesterday – said that Lisbon will purchase three Evo frigates from the Italian group . “This is not yet an official announcement from Fincantieri, but the headline is significant because it concerns one of the key defence opportunities we were monitoring for the second half of the year, with an estimated value of around 3 billion gross for Orizzonte Sistemi Navali, of which approximately 1.5 billion is for Fincantieri”, Intermonte emphasises.
As Osn is a joint venture 51 per cent owned by Fincantieri and 49 per cent by Leonardo, the company led by Mariani is also expected to receive the same stake. “We therefore expect the group to formalise the deal in the coming weeks”, the analysts continue, emphasising that “the news is positive as it would confirm the gradual conversion of the defence pipeline, a key element of the equity story”.
