The Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri generated a profit of more than €100 million in the first half of 2026. The key growth drivers include the ‘Underwater’ division and contracts for the US Navy.
In the first six months of last year, Fincantieri had posted a profit of €35 million. In the first half of this year, the net profit stands at €102 million – almost three times as high. Last year, Fincantieri posted a total profit of €117 million – a figure that has now almost been matched. EBITDA rose by 12.5% to €350 million. The growth is particularly evident in the value of orders: The order book grew by 17% year-on-year to a total of €73.9 billion; €6.1 billion in new orders were added in the first half of the year. According to the shipbuilding group, this ensures planning certainty right through to 2039. One of the ships is the “Carnival Destiny”, which is set to accommodate over 8,000 passengers. Fincantieri only recently began construction of the new cruise giant.
“The results for the first half of 2026 confirm that Fincantieri’s growth trajectory is characterised by a significant increase in profitability and value creation,” said Pierroberto Folgiero, CEO and Managing Director of Fincantieri. The net profit underlines both the effectiveness of the strategic path taken and the ability to translate a substantial order book into “concrete and tangible results”.
“Furthermore, the growing contribution of the ‘Underwater’ division and the ongoing consolidation of our core activities are strengthening the Group’s industrial profile and enhancing its stability, balance and autonomy,” said Folgiero. “In this context, the recently announced acquisitions in the ‘Underwater’ sector represent an important strategic milestone; they create the first vertically integrated provider with complementary expertise across the entire value chain.”
Growth in the underwater and marine sectors
The company highlighted a new order for its Norwegian subsidiary Vard as one of these milestones. The deep-sea research vessel, which is being built for the US research organisation Inkfish, is worth €700 million and is the largest single order in Vard’s history. Fincantieri plans to expand its portfolio of specialised vessels in future.
In the “Underwater” sector, the company announced new strategic agreements for the development of unmanned systems. For instance, the subsidiary IDS (Ingegneria Dei Sistemi) signed a contract with the robotics company Eni to develop “Clean Sea“ technology for monitoring marine ecosystems. Another highlight is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between WASS Submarine Systems and Magellan Aerospace Corporation to develop defence solutions for Canada. Fincantieri recently acquired four companies in the underwater sector.
Investments in American shipyards, engineering capabilities and supply chains are also set to play a key role in the company’s future development. The modernisation of the US Navy is part of the company’s long-term strategy. A key focus is on the US Navy’s programme for medium-sized landing ships (Landing Ship Medium, LSM). In the first half of the year, the US subsidiary Fincantieri Marine Group secured an initial contract worth around $30 million, covering design planning and the procurement of components with long lead times for the first four ships in the programme. For Fincantieri, this could mark the start of a long-term construction project: the Navy plans to procure 35 ships of this type.
