Leonardo posts $5.5bn revenue in 2024
Italian helicopter-maker Leonardo’s revenues jumped 11.1% year-over-year (YoY) in 2024 to $5.5bn as helicopter deliveries rose to 191 units while orders and earnings before interest, taxes, and amortisation (EBITA) saw significant improvement during the year.
Breakdown of deliveries showed Leonardo delivered 72 AW109/AW119, 67 AW139, 30 AW169, 13 AW189/149, eight NH90 and one AW101 helicopters during the year.
“The performance in 2024 confirms the positive trend in the sector, with orders, revenues, and EBITA all showing growth compared to the previous year,” said the company in a press release.
Customer-wise, a breakdown of the revenues showed nearly 35% ($1.9bn) of it came from civil segment with the remainder 65% ($3.6bn) was from defence.
Although revenues grow by 11.1% YoY, the company’s EBITA margin stood flat – the lowest in the past six years – compared with 2023 at 8.9% of the revenue. In absolute terms, it stood at $486.8m growing by 10% from the past year.
On the other hand, orders reached $6.1bn, reflecting a 6.4% increase over 2023, driven by higher commercial acquisitions alongside significant government contracts, further validating the success of the products in the portfolio.
Fourth quarter impresses with broad-based growth
Similar to the annual performance, the company posted strong growth during the fourth quarter. Revenues grew by 6.8% YoY to $1.1bn, while EBIT margins improved to 11.9% of the revenue to clock in at $203m in absolute terms.
On the flip side, the helicopter-maker’s orders during the fourth quarter were lower by 20.5% YoY to $1.1bn compared to $1.4bn in the same quarter of last year.
Five-year industrial plans: Global leader in civil space
In addition to the preliminary results, the company also updated its guidance for its published five-year plan. Its goals for the helicopter division were to: “Become a global civil leader and military key player by accelerating order conversion and boost product development to achieve a leading position in tilt-rotor technology considered as most viable and mature technology by leading military institutions.”
Leonardo plans to establish itself as global leader in the civil helicopter space by upgrading portfolio, pioneering new technologies and exploring strategic partnerships. As part of its plans, Leonardo plans to carry out avionics upgrade to its dual-use light helicopter AW109 to ensure its continued attractiveness in the VIP market.
In terms of targets, Leonardo is eyeing to take its backlog to $17.5bn by the end of 2028 translating into annual revenue of $6.5bn. It is worth mentioning here that the company already hit $5.5bn mark in 2024 – $500m shy of the 2028 target.
During the plan’s period, the company expects orders, revenues and EBITA in helicopters division to grow at 2%, 6% and 8% per annum, respectively.
