Fincantieri, from Poland to Arabia: target 10 billion contracts

On paper, as recently reiterated by CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, there are 20 billion euro business opportunities for Fincantieri in the defence sector between now and 2027 due to the numerous military investment enhancement programmes in Europe and beyond. Exploiting the solidity of its proposition and industrial positioning along the entire value chain, Fincantieri, however, is aiming, in the short term, at contracts that, according to market estimates, could be worth over €10 billion.

Of these, four billion lire will go to Norway, which will have to choose between the Constellation class frigates proposed by the Italian group through Vard (with which the shipbuilding giant has won a maxi order in the USA) and the solutions offered by the French Naval Group, the British Bae Systems, and the German-Dutch axis between Tkms and Damen, the best product to replace the current 'Fridtjof Nansen' class frigates with five units plus the option for a sixth. The outcome of the comparison is expected by the end of the year, and Fincantieri could also guarantee an important spin-off for the local industry as it is already present in the country with its subsidiary Vard.

The other challenge with an equally tight deadline is the one in Poland, where Fincantieri is in pole position in the 'Orka' programme, which envisages the acquisition of two latest-generation submarines, plus one as an option, and for which the group has proposed the project based on the U212NFS platform, which represents the Italian evolution of the U212A vessels already in service with the Italian and German navies. The awarding of the deal, which would be worth EUR 2.4 billion, was due to take place in June immediately after the presidential elections in Poland, but the Warsaw government is pushing forward the deadline, which is expected in the second half of the year. The short list includes, in addition to Fincantieri, Tkms and Sweden's Saab, but the French Naval Group, Spain's Navantia, and South Korea's Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries are pressing to get back into the game.

The dispute sees, however, Folgiero's group in the lead because the Italian proposal would guarantee the best combination between the product and the government cap that Warsaw is seeking and that would be personally assured by the undersecretary of Defence, Matteo Perego di Cremnago. The latter, as you will recall, took part in the Italian-Polish bilateral in February when the Italian solution was presented at Fincantieri's Muggiano shipyard.

The combination of several elements, not just the strictly industrial one, could also play in Fincantieri's favour in Greece, with which the channel of dialogue is open to finalise the sale to the Athens government of the first two frigates of the Fremm programme (Bergamini and Fasan), now in use by the Italian Navy. Negotiations between the two governments and their respective navies are already well advanced and should take place through Fincantieri: the Italian navy would transfer the two units to the group, which would then sell them to Greece. This would create a virtuous cycle that would allow significant savings for the Italian Navy, paving the way for the entry of two new units that would be built by Fincantieri in the most advanced configuration. No figures are being circulated on the possible sale, but the Hellenic Parliament had budgeted EUR 700 million for this chapter.