Marine Log - September 2008 - (Page 36)

SHIPBUILDING and constructing everything from megayachts to cruise ships, offshore vessels to naval ships. The company, with a production network of nine shipyards, eight of which are in Italy, has about 10,000 employees. In 2007, revenues were more than EURO 2.7 billion (in excess of $4 billion) with an EBITDA of 7.1%. The company’s order book at year end stood at a record level of EURO 12 billion, comprising a total of 49 ships, 23 for its Cruise, Ferry and Refitting Business Unit, 24 for its Naval Business Unit (including offshore supply vessels) and two megayachts. “Fincantieri intends to focus on cost efficiency at the Manitowoc’s shipyards,” says Maestrini, “fostering the culture of deliveries on-time and on-budget. Another main priority is to offer the customers state of the art products implemented with a cutting-edge technology. These two objectives, which are strictly interlinked, can be met by adopting the same approach we have successfully developed for our shipyards in Italy, where not only there are positive synergies between the production processes of our eight shipyards, but also shared competencies between our naval and merchant business units.” He adds, “From our experience, we have learned that leveraging the use of dual technologies is a way to increase competitiveness and boost technological innovation. We expect to use this same model to improve the shipyards in the U.S.” ITALY TO SELL STAKE IN FINCANTIERI As part of a move to cut public debt, the Italian Government plans to sell up to 49% of Fincantieri to investors. The move would help raise cash for Fincantieri’s expansion plans over the next few years. “The floatation lays the foundations for our business plan from 20092013,” says Maestrini. “The resources we will thereby obtain will be reinvested to support growth and expansion, backing manufacturing and engineering investments and supporting the increase in working capital expected from the internationalization of our business. The Italian Government has declared in the Document of Economical and Financial Planning, which was recently approved by the parliament within the 2009 budget, that Fincantieri will soon get listed. We are ready to face this new challenge that, due to technical reasons, will probably take place not earlier than next spring: the company is profitable, has no debt and we are confident to be in the best condition to attract investors.” One thing that will play on investors’ minds is the current situation at Aker Yards, which is the world’s second largest cruise ship builder to Fincantieri. ML 36 MARINE LOG SEPTEMBER 2008 www.marinelog.com Alberto Maestrini, Executive Senior Vice President, Fincantieri Naval Vessels Business Unit http://www.mptusa.com http://www.mptusa.com http://www.marinelog.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Marine Log - September 2008

Marine Log - September 2008 Editorial Second Thoughts Update Contents Inside Washington Slick Cleanup The Women of WISTA Keeping Ships at Sea Connected Shipbuilding Shakeup Newsmakers Tech News Contracts Events Website Directory ML Buyer's Guide ML Marketplace Letters Marine Salvage

Marine Log - September 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.