Avio’s adjusted profit rises 13% to €18.6 million in nine months
Key Facts
Avio increased adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization by 13% to €18.6 million in the first nine months of 2026, compared with €16.4 million in the same period last year, according to an Alliance News report published on Nov. 11. Net revenue rose 17% to €409.7 million from €351.0 million. But the revenue margin fell to 4.5% from 4.7%, putting profit growth in the context of higher sales alongside margin pressure. Reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 18% to €17.9 million from €15.2 million. Reported operating profit also improved to €1.7 million from €0.2 million, while adjusted operating profit rose to €2.3 million from €1.4 million.
The report attributed revenue growth to faster production of Vega C launch vehicles, increased engine deliveries for the Ariane 6 program and the development of defense propulsion activities. These drivers indicate that sales growth came from the launch and defense programs named by the company, rather than broad international expansion. At the same time, Alliance News said operating costs linked to Avio’s U.S. activities rose during the period, despite higher reported earnings. The decline in the revenue margin to 4.5% from 4.7% shows that adjusted profit growth did not keep pace with revenue growth. The group secured about €237 million in new orders during the nine months, about half in defense and the rest mainly for the development of the Vega C and Vega E launch vehicles.
The order backlog stood at €1.99 billion at the end of September, down 8% from the end of 2025, despite new orders recorded during the period. The decline offers a counterpoint to revenue growth: the accumulated balance fell compared with the start of the year as launch and defense programs continued to support sales. Meanwhile, net cash was €614.5 million at the end of September, compared with €591.7 million at the end of 2025. The report attributed the increase to receipt of €109.4 million from a capital increase allocated to Advent International. Investments partly offset the proceeds, along with the conversion of part of the advances paid to suppliers.
U.S. expansion includes a new facility that Avio USA began building in September in Hurt, Virginia, for solid-propellant motors for tactical missile programs. In October, the group signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin to produce motors at the new site after qualification is completed. The agreement is tied to the Extended Range GMLRS and Precision Strike Missile programs. Avio also received an order in October worth more than €55 million to supply engines and aerodynamic control surfaces for the ASTER 30 system in cooperation with MBDA. These developments follow higher operating costs linked to U.S. activities in the first nine months, according to the report.
Avio confirmed its 2026 financial outlook, with revenue of between €560 million and €590 million, reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of between €27 million and €35 million, and adjusted earnings of between €29 million and €37 million. It also maintained its net profit range of €8 million to €13 million and forecast an order backlog of between €2.00 billion and €2.10 billion at year-end. The revenue target range compares with net revenue of €541.7 million in 2025, up 22.7% from 2024. An analyst at Intermonte told Reuters that the initial negative market reaction was linked to the company not raising its net revenue outlook, while describing the results overall as positive. The stock fell as much as 4.6% after the results before trimming losses and moving toward stability near unchanged during trading; it was down 4.7% at €30.78 when Alliance News published its report on Nov. 11.