Fincantieri expects huge shipbuilding kick from fatter defense budgets

ROME — Fincantieri is set to boost its naval business thanks to war-driven defense budgets, and the Italian shipyard has its sights on business opportunities that could total €20 billion (U.S. $21 billion) in the next five years, the company’s recently appointed CEO said Friday.

Pierroberto Folgiero made the announcement as he launched his first business plan, covering 2023-2027, after taking over the firm in May from outgoing CEO Giuseppe Bono.

“Spending on naval vessels is expected to grow in line with global defense budgets, led by Western European and Asia Pacific countries,” the Italian state-controlled yard said in a statement accompanying Folgiero’s new plan.

The plan envisages naval export opportunities worth €20 billion between 2023 and 2027, thanks to naval budgets rising 3.3% in Western Europe and 4.2% in the Asia-Pacific region, with a “significant increase” in demand for frigates, corvettes and submarines.

Sales are on the upswing as countries spend more on defense in the wake of the Ukraine war, and they will help push Fincantieri’s revenue to €9.8 billion by 2027, up from €6.7 billion in 2021, the firm said.

The yard also promised a “further strengthening” of its Italian and overseas facilities thanks to “the review and digitalization of production processes.”

In 2020, the United States selected Fincantieri’s FREMM frigate design for its new FFG(X) vessel, which will undergo production at Wisconsin’s Marinette Marine shipyard. Fincantieri has owned the yard since 2008, and it’s where the firm already builds Freedom-class littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy with Lockheed Martin.

Folgiero, who formerly headed an engineering company, was appointed CEO of Fincantieri after Bono’s 20-year stint running the firm. Months after stepping down , the 78-year-old veteran passed away in November.

In the final months of Bono’s mandate, Fincantieri was touted as a possible purchaser of Oto Melara, the naval gun maker that owner Leonardo has been mulling selling.

Asked by Reuters on Friday if the firm was still interested, Folgiero said Fincantieri “always looks at all strategic options.”

The launch of the new business plan coincided on Friday with an announcement by Greece’s Elefsis Shipyards that it had signed a deal with Fincantieri to jointly build a naval vessel production line in Greece to construct ships ordered by the Greek government.

In its announcement of the new plan, Fincantieri said it had delivered more than 130 naval vessels since 1990, including about 50 to Italy and 50 to the United States. It has also built 120 cruise ships since 1990 and now has a share in the cruise market exceeding 40%.

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——意大利芬坎蒂尼造船厂新任首席执行官周五表示，由于战争推动的国防预算增加，该公司将大力发展海军业务，并着眼于未来五年内总额可能达到 200 亿欧元（210 亿美元）的商机。

皮埃罗贝托·福尔杰罗在 5 月份从即将卸任的首席执行官朱塞佩·博诺手中接管公司后，发布了他的第一份商业计划，涵盖 2023 年至 2027 年，并宣布了这一消息。

意大利国有造船厂在一份与福尔杰罗新计划一同发布的声明中表示：“预计海军舰艇的支出将与全球国防预算的增长保持一致，其中西欧和亚太国家引领增长。”

该计划预计，在西欧海军预算增长 3.3% 和亚太地区海军预算增长 4.2% 的背景下，2023 年至 2027 年间，海军出口机会将达到 200 亿欧元，同时对护卫舰、轻型护卫舰和潜艇的需求将“显著增加”。

该公司表示，随着各国在乌克兰战争后增加国防开支，销售额正在上升，这将有助于推动芬坎蒂尼集团的收入从 2021 年的 67 亿欧元增长到 2027 年的 98 亿欧元。

该船厂还承诺，通过“对生产流程进行审查和数字化”，将“进一步加强”其在意大利和海外的设施。

2020年，美国选中芬坎蒂尼集团的FREMM护卫舰设计方案，用于其新型FFG(X)舰艇，该舰将在威斯康星州的马里内特海事造船厂建造。芬坎蒂尼集团自2008年起拥有该船厂，并与洛克希德·马丁公司合作，在该船厂为美国海军建造自由级濒海战斗舰。

福尔杰罗曾是一家工程公司的负责人，在博诺执掌芬坎蒂尼集团20年后，他被任命为首席执行官。卸任数月后，这位78岁的老将于11月去世。

在博诺任期的最后几个月里，芬坎蒂尼被认为是奥托梅拉拉（Oto Melara）的潜在买家，奥托梅拉拉是海军炮制造商，其所有者莱昂纳多一直在考虑出售它。

周五，路透社询问福尔杰罗，该公司是否仍然对此感兴趣，福尔杰罗表示，芬坎蒂尼集团“始终会考虑所有战略选择”。

新商业计划的推出恰逢希腊埃莱夫西斯造船厂周五宣布与芬坎蒂尼集团签署协议，共同在希腊建造一条海军舰艇生产线，用于建造希腊政府订购的舰艇。

芬坎蒂尼集团在宣布新计划时表示，自1990年以来，该公司已交付超过130艘海军舰艇，其中约50艘交付意大利，50艘交付美国。此外，该公司自1990年以来还建造了120艘邮轮，目前在邮轮市场的份额超过40%。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。