Purchases on Leonardo after accounts exceed expectations. Cingolani +420% in the three-year period

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Leonardo shares close a brilliant session (+5.03% to €55.96) thanks to a better-than-expected quarterly report, particularly in terms of orders for the period (€9 billion) and EBITDA (€281 million). This is practically the last act of the Cingolani management for the defence group as tomorrow's shareholders' meeting will appoint a new board of directors and the operational leadership will be entrusted to Lorenzo Mariani, probably flanked by one or two general managers.

In exactly three years, Leonardo's share price has more than quintupled in value, rising from €10.44 to the current €55.96 (+436%). In the January-March quarter, normally the weakest period for the group's business (accounting for 11-12% of annual ebit), revenues reached €4.44 billion, up 6.9%, with ebit of €281 million (+33.2%) and adjusted net profit of €184 million (+60%). Net profit, adds Intermonte, rose 69% to EUR162m against a consensus of EUR138m. Well above consensus, orders for the period increased by almost 31% to EUR 9 billion, bringing the order book to EUR 56.8 billion (EUR 46.1 billion at March 2025).

"Overall, Leonardo recorded a very solid quarter, characterised by strong order momentum, growing margins and improved cash flow management, confirming the strength of the current cycle in the defence sector and the improvement in the group's operational discipline," is the comment from AlphaValue, which notes that the board of directors did not, however, consider raising the 2026 guidance. Ubs points out that revenues and operating margin are about 5 per cent above consensus while, looking at the divisions, only Aerostructures and Atr numbers have disappointed: 'We believe that the main focus from investors is on the Change of CEO,' comment the analysts of the Swiss institute. Yesterday, US subsidiary LeonardoDrs had raised its 2026 guidance after posting +24% first-quarter profit to $62 million and +28% adjusted ebitda to $105 million on revenues that grew 6% to $846 million. Orders for the period were 885 million. The Arlington-based group's new guidance now sees 2026 revenues at $3.9-3.975 billion with adjusted ebitda of $515-530 million and earnings per share of $1.26-1.30.