A significant increase in the order backlog of Fincantieri, the Italian loisted shipbuilding group, has resulted in a marked increase in the debt of the company, it said in a statement.
Fincantieri’s orderbook stood at €21.8 billion at the end of September, up from €11.56 billion a year earlier. Several large cruise ship orders have contributed to the increase.
Net debt stood at €625 million on 30 September, compared to €438 million at the close of 2015.
“Most of the Group's debt is used to finance current assets associated with cruise ships construction and thus directly connected with the financing of net working capital. By contrast, net fixed assets are financed by equity and other sources of long-term funding,” Fincantieri said.
“The change in Net financial position is mainly due to financial flows typical of the cruise ship business whose volumes have grown significantly compared to last year, with a further ship due for delivery in the last quarter of this year and three more due for delivery in the first three months of 2017. This trend is in line with the Business Plan 2016-2020 targets and with the guidance for the current year end,” the company said.
Fincantieri reported a nine month to 30 September net profit of €30 million, a marked improvement from a loss of €169 million in the same period last year.
