Hundreds of billions of orders hit a record high! Shipbuilding giants usher in a 'peak order season'

Recently, Fincantieri released its first-quarter 2025 financial report. In the first quarter, Fincantieri's total revenue reached €2.376 billion (approximately RMB 19.22 billion), a significant 35% increase compared to €1.76 billion in the same period of 2024. All business segments performed exceptionally well, particularly the shipbuilding business, whose revenue increased by 39.5% year-on-year, accounting for 72% of the group's total revenue.

In the first quarter, Fincantieri achieved a significant improvement in profitability. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) reached €154 million (approximately RMB 1.246 billion), a 54% year-on-year increase; the EBITDA margin increased from 5.7% in the first quarter of 2024 to 6.4%.

Fincantieri noted that the improvement in the company's EBITDA margin in the first quarter was particularly significant in the shipbuilding segment. This was mainly due to the growth of the defense business and the various measures taken by the group to improve the operational efficiency of the cruise business. At the same time, the newly established underwater business segment also made a significant contribution, with an EBITDA margin as high as 17%, demonstrating the high profitability of this segment.

Financial reports show that in the first quarter, Fincantieri's shipbuilding business revenue was €1.828 billion (approximately RMB 14.787 billion), a 39.5% increase compared to the first quarter of 2024. Cruise business revenue increased from €914 million in the same period last year to €1.045 billion, accounting for 41% of the group's total revenue (48% in the same period last year); warship business revenue increased from €388 million in the same period last year to €770 million, accounting for 30% of the group's revenue (20% in the same period last year).

In the first quarter, Fincantieri's shipbuilding business EBITDA was €125 million (approximately RMB 1.011 billion), a 53.3% increase compared to €81 million in the first quarter of 2024; the EBITDA margin increased from 6.2% in the same period last year to 6.8%.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter, Fincantieri's offshore and specialized vessels business revenue was €319 million, a 6.7% increase compared to €299 million in the same period of 2024; EBITDA increased from €13 million last year to €15 million, an increase of 16.9%; the EBITDA margin also increased from 4.3% to 4.7%.

Fincantieri pointed out that in the first three months of 2025, the group achieved a record quarterly order intake of €11.7 billion (approximately RMB 94.644 billion), far exceeding the €5 billion in the first quarter of 2024, equivalent to 76% of the €15.4 billion order intake for the whole of 2024, while Fincantieri's order intake for the whole of last year set a historical record.

The increase in order intake in the first quarter mainly came from the shipbuilding sector. According to the financial report, Fincantieri's shipbuilding sector received new orders totaling €11.519 billion (approximately RMB 93.18 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, while the figure was €141 million in the same period last year.

The strong performance benefited from the boost in cruise ship orders, especially the official commencement of four 200,000-ton luxury cruise ship orders from Norwegian Cruise Line in the first quarter. These four 226,000-ton cruise ships will be built by Fincantieri's shipyard in Monfalcone. The first ship is expected to be delivered in 2030, followed by three more in 2032, 2034, and 2036. It is said that this order alone is worth €9 billion (approximately RMB 72.803 billion). In addition, four environmentally friendly cruise ship orders signed with Viking Cruises also came into effect in the first quarter.

Fincantieri recently also received its first orders from two "new customers." Marella Cruises, a British brand under TUI Cruises, announced an order for two new cruise ships, and AIDA Cruises, a German brand under Carnival Corporation, will also order two new generation mid-sized luxury cruise ships. The value of these two orders exceeds €2 billion.

As of March 31, 2025, Fincantieri's order backlog reached €57.6 billion (approximately RMB 465.941 billion), also setting a new record. The current order backlog is approximately 7.1 times the revenue for fiscal year 2024. Of this, €40.3 billion for 102 ships are confirmed orders, and there are also €17.3 billion in optional orders, with delivery dates extending to 2036.

Fincantieri stated that the strong performance in the first quarter further consolidated Fincantieri's growth prospects in its core business areas. This trend benefits from the favorable macroeconomic environment in the cruise industry, the expected increase in defense spending, and the growing global demand for offshore energy resources (including wind power and oil and gas). These dynamics have created broad business development opportunities for the group in the offshore wind power, oil and gas, and underwater technology sectors.