Italy’s Leonardo steps up digital defence drive and lifts targets

By Giulia Segreti

ROME, March 12 (Reuters) – Italian defence and aerospace group Leonardo is stepping up investment in computing, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity over the next five years, aiming to become a major digital defence player.

The state-controlled group has already streamlined its product portfolio and invested in digitalisation, defence electronics and interconnected platforms – shifting from traditional defence towards advanced technology in a move that CEO Roberto Cingolani has called “from bullets to bytes”.

The company now “benefits from a competitive advantage that few others possess, enabling us to develop products and solutions capable of addressing further threats,” Cingolani said on Thursday.

A key pillar of the new strategy is the Michelangelo Dome, a multi-layered air defence system that Leonardo expects to generate business worth 21 billion euros ($24 billion) over the next decade, including 6 billion euros between 2026 and 2030.

The company’s shares jumped about 9% in early Milan trading to a record high after the plan was announced. They were up 4% at 64.5 euros at 1100 GMT.

DEFENCE RESHAPED

“The update of the Plan to 2030 responds to a new context in which threats have changed in nature, speed and scale … security no longer concerns only the traditional perimeter of defence, but directly affects the economic and social continuity of nations,” the company said.

With Europe’s defence sector reshaped by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine and broader global unrest, Leonardo aims to capture rising defence spending, which it sees climbing from $400 billion in 2020 to more than 1 trillion by end-2030.

In the new five-year plan, Leonardo forecasts 142 billion euros in cumulative orders by end-2030, implying compound annual growth of 6.1%. Revenues are expected to grow an average 9% a year between 2026 and 2030 to reach 126 billion euros in total. Core profits are seen doubling from end-2025 levels to 3.59 billion euros by the end of the plan.

The group plans to hire more than 8,000 people by 2030, with over half under the age of 30. “At a time when threats are becoming increasingly complex and interconnected, human capital is the true competitive advantage,” it said.

STRONG GROWTH

Earlier on Thursday, Leonardo said it was “positioned on a path of strong growth”, with orders, revenues and core profits set to rise further.

It forecast about 25 billion euros in orders this year, up from 23.8 billion in 2025, and revenues of around 21 billion euros, versus 19.5 billion last year.

Earnings before interest, taxes and amortisation are expected to reach 2.03 billion euros by year-end.

Leonardo also proposed a dividend of 0.63 euros per share on last year’s results.

($1 = 0.8659 euros)

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome. Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Potter)