Adds U.S. plant completion timeline delay in para 2, Intermonte analyst comment in bullets 8 and 9
March 12 - Italian rocket maker Avio AVI.MI on Thursday forecast a 2026 order backlog between 2 billion and 2.1 billion euros ($2.4 billion), below its 2025 backlog, and its shares fell as much as 16%.
Avio also said its planned U.S. solid rocket motor plant, which will serve major customers such as aerospace and defence giants Raytheon RTX.N and Lockheed Martin LMT.N, would be ready by end-2028, later than the previously communicated early-2028 target.
The rocket maker said its 2025 order backlog rose 25.6% to 2.17 billion euros, in line with its 2.1 to 2.2 billion euros forecast range for the year.
Avio expects its 2026 net profit to be in a range of 8 to 13 million euros
The rocket maker expects its 2026 EBITDA to be in a range of 27 to 35 million euros
Its 2025 net profit rose 81.6% to 11.6 million euros, above its 7 million to 10 million euros forecast range
Avio's 2025 EBITDA rose 24.9% to 32.3 million euros, in line with its 27 to 33 million euros forecast range
Revenue for the year rose 22.7% to 541.7 million euros, beating the company's 510 million to 540 million euros forecast range
Company proposes dividend of 0.14846 euros per share
Avio is set to join Italy's blue-chip FTSE Mib index .FTMIB on March 23
Investors were disappointed by the 2026 forecast as they expected a stronger outlook amid recent geopolitical developments, Intermonte analyst Carlo Maritano told Reuters
The decline was also driven by profit-taking after the stock's recent rally, Maritano added
($1 = 0.8674 euros)
(Reporting by Philippe Leroy Beaulieu in Gdansk; Editing by Matt Scuffham)
((philippe.leroybeaulieu@thomsonreuters.com))
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