What will Leonardo do with automation?
Leonardo has stopped selecting a partner for business automation in Genoa. Now interventions to recover profitability. Unions satisfied
The automation division of Genoa (formerly Elsag) remains in Leonardo.
The defense and aerospace group announced yesterday that it had "decided to interrupt the process of selecting a partner for the automation business, as it is unable today to identify a person capable of ensuring a solid future development for the Genoese hub".
Last year the former Finmeccanica group announced its intention to market the Automation BU which operates in integrated multifunctional systems for all airport and postal projects.
In the meantime, the unions had mobilized with strikes against the sale of Leonardo's Automation BU which employs 400 workers out of the 1700 of the Genoese plant. And the Minister of Economic Development, Giancarlo Giorgetti, also intervened on the matter during a question time in the Senate.
And after more than 40 hours of strike, the unions and employees celebrate. "This is a victory for the workers, which lays the foundations for a new phase of development for Automation and for the Genoese site", wrote the Genoa and National Fiom secretariats in a note. "The right choice not to let the Automation BU leave the Leonardo perimeter. The sacrifices made by the workers paid off, as did the synergies of the territory" commented Marco Longinotti of the Fim Cisl of Genoa.
Now the group headed by Alessandro Profumo has started the analysis of the necessary interventions "in order to better face the competitive scenario of the automation business with a lean cost structure and the strong operational agility necessary for the recovery of profitability which is currently unsatisfactory ".
At the moment the Leonardo stock is not impacted by the stop to the sale of the automation business.
All the details.
STOP THE DISPOSAL OF BUSINESS AUTOMATION, THE DECISION OF LEONARDO
Leonardo has stopped the sales process of its automation business. Leonardo's Automation division specializes in logistics systems for baggage sorting at airports and logistics management of parcels.
"The numerous subjects, who submitted an offer, did not guarantee satisfaction of the essential conditions and requirements set by Leonardo for the future of the automation business in terms of a long-term project and adequate investments for the right enhancement of technologies and automation skills, ”explains the company.
ANALYSIS OF INTERVENTIONS FOR PROFITABILITY RECOVERY LAUNCHED
Once the possibility of selling has been filed, we look at profitability.
Therefore Leonardo announces that he has started "an in-depth analysis process to define the necessary interventions on the organization, governance and processes, in order to better address the competitive scenario of the automation business with a lean cost structure and strong agility operational ". The latter "necessary for the recovery of profitability to date unsatisfactory".
INITIATIVES IN THE GENOVESE TERRITORY
Finally, the group recalled the initiatives in the area (such as “its most significant long-term strategic initiative: the creation of the most advanced competence center dedicated to supercomputing, artificial intelligence and the cloud”). In the note, he stresses that Genoa "continues to represent a reference area for Leonardo for the development of its industrial and business activities", with "taking on great responsibility by Leonardo in the interest of people and the city also for future generations ".
THE NOTE OF FIOM GENOVA
The unions breathe a sigh and are now looking to the relaunch of Leonardo's automation business unit.
“Now we can lay the foundations for a future of growth in the sector, within the Leonardo group. We will now ask the company for clarity on investments in new products and skills, so that Automation is able to intercept the impetuous development of the logistics sector ”declared Stefano Bonazzi, Secretary of Fiom Genova.
THE COMMENT OF INTESA SANPAOLO
Finally, yesterday Leonardo's shares did not decline since the stop to the sale of the automation business.
“Intesa Sanpaolo (add rating and target price of 8.2 euro confirmed on the share) expects more details on this front at the time of the disclosure of the group's 2021 results (board of directors on 10 March)” reports MF . However, the bank “points out that the failure of the process of divesting the automation business could have an impact on the fundamentals of the group's Aerostructures division in the short term. Surely it will be necessary to monitor the costs of the restructuring and the investments necessary to improve the profitability of the division ".
AND THAT OF BANA AKROS
“Banca Akros wanted to remind you that Leonardo is willing to sell its companies, Oto Melara and Wass, in a deal that could guarantee a collection of up to 650 million euros. At the same time, it can also list its US subsidiary Drs with a similar collection, added Banca Akros, which does not expect these news to impact the price of the share on which it maintains a buy rating and a target price of € 9.25 ". MF .
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/innovazione/cosa-fara-leonardo-con-automazione/ on Thu, 10 Feb 2022 14:53:30 +0000.