High-potential SMEs

Egm in the X-ray: Porto Aviation doubled ebitda in 2025

Good profit margins. The military version of one of its ultralights used in Iranian Shahed-136 drone hunting exercises

by Valeria Novellini

30 March 2026

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5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Numbers
Almost doubling the dividend as well but conservative pay-out
Risen development completed 4 posts and opportunities in Defence

5' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

It would be all too easy to say that Porto Aviation Group's profit margins will 'fly' in the financial year 2025: but that is exactly what happened. On the other hand, last 16 October the Risen Atlantico Superveloce 916 aircraft broke three speed records: in the 15 km. Round trip (435.2 km/h) and in the Fai (International Aeronautical Federation) 50 km and 100 km triangles. (these are closed flight paths with three turning points that meet specific geometric requirements), with 432.69 km/h and 431.14 km/h respectively.

The numbers

The company also achieved financial records in 2025. Revenues rose by 10.8% to EUR 4.2 million (and production value by 22.3% to around EUR 6 million due to a positive change in inventories of finished/semi-finished goods that jumped from EUR 383,200 to almost EUR 1.1 million). Above all, however, ebitda more than doubled from EUR 504,000 to EUR 1.14 million, ebit more than tripled from EUR 244,300 to EUR 814,200, and net profit also more than doubled from EUR 238,500 to EUR 530,000.

This was despite raw material costs rising by 26.4% to EUR 2.67 million and personnel costs increasing by 23.7% to EUR 1.5 million. On the other hand, service costs decreased slightly (-2.8% to EUR 969,000) and other operating expenses dropped by 48.1% to EUR 40,200. In addition, there was a positive effect from the reversal of changes in inventories of raw materials from EUR 94,500 to EUR 429,300.

The balance of financial management (which is also insignificant) went from a positive value of EUR 30,200 to a negative value of EUR 35,500. The company had net liquidity of EUR 1.05 million, albeit slightly less than the EUR 1.06 million at the end of 2024; in the meantime, a dividend payment of EUR 113,300 was made for the financial year 2024, and a buy-back of a total of 35,000 shares was made. The tax rate then jumped from 13.1% to a more physiological 31.9%.

Almost doubling for the dividend as well but conservative pay-out

These results allow the Porto Aviation Group to distribute to shareholders a dividend of EUR 0.085 per share (EUR 0.048249 for the financial year 2024), for a total dividend payout of EUR 202,575, which corresponds to a pay-out of 38%, thus entirely conservative.

As announced, in 2025 Porto Aviation Group completed the multi-year programme for the development of the new 4-seater Risen aircraft (which allows the company's entry into the segment of light aircraft certified according to the European Easa standards), and at the end of June the last tranche of public financing in the amount of €606,800 was disbursed. A total of EUR 4.1 million was invested in this project, against which a subsidised loan of EUR 3.5 million was granted (of which EUR 2.85 million was actually paid out, of which 61% of the total, i.e. EUR 1.74 million, will have to be repaid starting from 31/10/2026 in annual instalments for 7 years, i.e. approximately EUR 248,600 per year). Which, given the good liquidity situation, is obviously not a problem.

The Porto Aviation Group's achievements in 2025 (11 aircraft delivered and a backlog of 20 aircraft at the end of the year) are also the result of its participation in the most important trade fairs in the sector, including Aero 2025 in Friedrichshafen, Germany (the city of aviation, known for its Zeppelin Museum), where the Risen 912iS and 916 Turbo aircraft were presented, the Experimental Aircraft Association Air Venture Oshkosh in the USA (Wisconsin), which registered 704.000 visitors, and, for the first time, the Sand & Fun Airshow in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This show was also an outstanding success with over 60,000 visitors per day and 20 deals worth a total of $66.7 million were signed during the event. A record was also set in the Guinness Book of Records (largest number of fireworks launched from a helicopter, in this case a Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm Bo 105 P1M).

Risen development completed 4 places and opportunities in Defence

Beyond event participation and speed records, however, Porto Aviation Group now has a new, higher-end product (the 4-seater Risen), which can be offered for advanced aviation training and utility-commercial use, as well as private personal aviation, of course. In addition, through its subsidiary Aerotec Composites Doo, it has purchased a 6,000 sq.m. plot near Vrsac (Serbia), on which a new 1,000 sq.m. industrial hall is being planned, with the possibility of extension up to 3,000 sq.m.

Not only that. There are also potential military applications. The Kx-2 ultralight aircraft, a 'military' version of the Risen, was used in the Sentry South 26.1 exercise in Georgia to simulate the Shahed-136 drone hunt; this is much cheaper and less visible to radar (given the materials it is built of) than the traditional use of military jets. The Shahed 136 drones, respectively designed and built by the Iranian aviation companies Shahed (the name means 'witness') and Hesa, have been deployed by the Iranian Armed Forces since 2021 and are designed to hit ground targets within a maximum radius of about 2,500 km from the launch site, following a predetermined route. For the time being, for Porto Aviation, defence is only an opportunity, which should not be overlooked given the current and foreseeable geopolitical scenarios and the high level of US military spending.

Possible acquisition of a hangar in the USA

Meanwhile, still in the USA, the possibility of acquiring (through a specialised developer) an aviation hangar at the Boulder City Airport in the State of Nevada, has been identified at the beginning of 2026. This would allow the Porto Aviation Group to increase its operational and strategic presence in the North American market, which is historically the most important for the company, also due to the large number of ultralight aircraft used to cover the considerable distances of the American continent.

The market has appreciated the positive development of Porto Aviation Group's results and, in fact, the share price has almost tripled in the past year. Unfortunately, the critical issues related to the very small free float (15.16% of the share capital; among the shareholders there is also the industrial automation giant Camozzi Group with 5.59%) remain, and this of course greatly limits the potential interest from analysts and investors as well as the trading volume, which is decidedly negligible. So far, moreover, there have been few corporate announcements and they are limited to legal obligations. There have been more frequent reports on aircraft performance for flying enthusiasts, but these are mostly via social media and not press releases (e.g. in November 2025, an 18-year-old young pilot made the Cape Verde-Brazil Atlantic crossing in just 9 hours with a standard Risen 916 Sv aircraft, which is obviously a valuable testimony to the aircraft's reliability). Porto Aviation Group is a 'niche' title in every sense of the word. And that is a pity.