Purchases on Saipem. Market appreciates better-than-expected accounts
The company led by Alessandro Puliti ended the first quarter with a jump in profits to EUR 77 million (+35%) and the order book already at EUR 33 billion
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(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Purchases onSaipem, which is among the top stocks on the Milan Stock Exchange. On the eve, with markets closed, the company, led by Alessandro Puliti, released its first-quarter accounts, which saw earnings jump to EUR 77 million (+35%) and its order book rise to EUR 33 billion. Saipem confirmed its guidance for 2025, already announced on 25 February, which forecast revenues of around €15 billion, ebitda of around €1.6 billion, operating cash flow (net of lease payments) of around €900 million, capital expenditure of around €500 million and free cash flow (net of lease payments) of at least €500 million.
Equita: positive implications for our 2025 estimates
Equita's analysts emphasise that 'results maintain a sustained growth trend and are better than expected', focusing on operating cash generation of €325m (+87%), '€215m better than expected with an exceptionally high cash conversion at 93% of ebitda. Nfp improved sequentially by 93 million, with a very solid balance sheet'. Brokers expect "the set of results to havepositive implications for our 2025 estimates in a Lsd range. Confirmation of the outlook was rather expected, but such positive results in the first quarter (the seasonally weaker quarter) imply a slowdown in performance in subsequent quarters and/or a high degree of conservatism in the assumptions underlying the guidance'. The conference call with analysts will be held in the morning, and Equita expects 'messages on projects in the pipeline that may somewhat reassure about the size of the pipeline after the recent drop in hydrocarbon prices'.
Analysts at Bnp Paribas point out that the company posted a 'quarter that was broadly in line with overall results, with E&C offshore revenues down but better margins and vice versa for E&C onshore, while the consensus on orders taken appears rather stagnant',
Mediobanca: solid growth in margins from accounts
Mediobanca points out that "overall, we expect a positive share price reaction today, as the company's Q1 2025 results once again demonstrate the solid growth in margins". The brokers point out that they recently revised Saipem's rating upwards, 'as we believe the company's large order book can provide a buffer against potential Brent weakness. In addition, Saipem's business opportunities come from National Oil Companies and attractive deepwater projects with break-even typically at or below $40 bbl. Finally, the completion of the merger with Subc in the second half of 2026, which in our view has a strong strategic rationale, should offer further upside potential."
Clean, best performance in the last decade
During the conference call, the ceo, Alessandro Puliti, pointed out that "in the first quarter of 2025, Saipem postedits best performance in the last decade in terms of revenue, ebitda and cash flow. Our order book remains at record levels, which gives us high visibility on our revenue for the next 2-3 years. The projected turnover for 2025 is 90% covered by the current order book, a level that remains very high for 2026, at around 70%. On the tariff front there are no particular critical issues: 'we do not have a significant direct impact as we have no direct operations in the US. Moreover, the work we do for American customers is outside the US. We work in Europe and the Far East. Of course a global economic slowdown also affects us, but nothing direct. Nevertheless, we are quite confident in our current situation'. Finally Puliti announced that 'a few days ago we submitted our bids for the Sakaria phase 3 project in Turkey. Sakarya is the largest natural gas field discovered in Turkey and is located approximately 150 kilometres off the coast of Eregli. Saipem has carried out projects for phase 1 and phase 2. Finally, an update on the Courseulles sur Mer project: 'we aim to resume drilling activity in late summer 2025, with the objective of completing the scope of work in 2026'. In general terms, the top manager reiterated that 'our fleet is fully covered for this year, 2025-2026. And now, with the latest acquisition, it is becoming quite busy for 2027 as well. And there are important new tenders in the pipeline for which we submitted offers a few days ago'.
