Profit plunge at Italian aerospace giant Finmeccanica

Italian aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica on Tuesday reported a sharp drop in its second-quarter profits to 44 million euros ($54 million) but said its gross revenues rose 33 percent. The company, which is majority controlled by the Italian state, said it was confirming its targets for the year of operating profit of around 1.1 billion euros and sales of between 16.9 billion and 17.3 billion euros. While the net profit plunged to 44 million euros compared to 449 million euros in the same period 12 months ago, last year included a capital gain of 443 million euros from the sale of 45 percent stake in Ansaldo Energia. In the April-June period, the group's gross adjusted EBITA (earnings before interest, tax and amortisation) jumped by 33 percent to 285 million euros, while its sales slumped by 3.0 percent to 4.3 billion euros. "The results from the first and particularly the second quarter show an encouraging improvement of the principle indicators and a return to profitability," Finmeccanica boss Giuseppe Orsi said in a statement. "It's a sign that the restructuring and efficiency plan is going ahead as forecast," he added. However, "2012 remains a delicate transition year," he added. The defence giant posted a 2.3 billion euro net loss for 2011, blaming an "extraordinarily difficult year". Orsi took over last year after the resignation of Pier Francesco Guarguaglini, who was brought down by a corruption scandal. He is pushing ahead with his plan for the company to concentrate on activities in which it can be a global leader and sell off assets.