Italy's Leonardo lifts 2026 order outlook again as nine-month profit rises

ROME, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Italian aerospace and defence group Leonardo lifted its full-year outlook for orders for a second time this year on Thursday, after reporting strong growth in orders and profitability in the first nine months of 2026.

• The state-controlled group said it now expects new orders to reach €29.5 billion ($33.2 billion) in 2026, including the contribution from recently acquired Iveco Defence Vehicles (IDV), up from the already raised guidance of €28.2 billion in July

• Leonardo completed the €1.6 billion acquisition of IDV from Italian truck maker Iveco in mid-March to strengthen its position in the land defence sector

• The company reported a 29.3% year-on-year rise in core profits for the first nine months of the year and new orders increased 22.4%, excluding IDV

• Including IDV, new orders were up 27.8% to €23.3 billion and the order backlog was up 27.7% to just over €60 billion

• The results "show a further improvement in the Group's overall performance across all divisions, with a solid increase in revenues and significant growth in both profitability and cash generation," the group said in a statement

• The nine-month results "confirm the soundness of our growth strategy, underpinned by financial strength, a strong commercial proposition, the breadth and depth of our offering, and expanding production capacity," Chief Executive Lorenzo Mariani said

• Mariani added that alliances, joint ventures and M&A remained key in supporting the group's long-term growth

($1 = 0.8880 euros)

(Reporting by Giulia Segreti in Rome; Editing by Jochelle Mendonca)