Helicopter systems designer Finmeccanica is to change its name to Leonardo only three months after it changed its name from AgustaWestland.
Since taking the helm in May 2014, chief executive Mauro Moretti has embarked upon a restructuring of the group to focus on its core activities activities the aerospace and defence sectors, while shedding non-core assets.
In December last year he said that the new name for the group would be “recognisable, simple, very Italian”. The company is likely to have been named after renaissance Italian painter Leonardo Da Vinci.
Free operating cash flow at Finmeccanica during 2015 jumped almost five-fold to €307 million euros ($344 million). The company said this was boosted by the sale of its rail signaling unit Ansaldo STS to the Japanese company Hitachi. Debt at the company at the end of last year debt stood at €3.3 billion euros.
Orders dropped 2.3% last year due to a weak performance from its helicopter division and this is expected to remain unchanged this year at €12.2-12.7 billion.
Finmeccanica operates globally in the aerospace, defence and security markets. It is one of the leading suppliers of helicopters, aircraft, aeronautics and defence systems. The company is also a European leader in space systems, security and resilience, transportation and power generation solutions.
