Finmeccanica To Rename Itself Leonardo

Pan-European aerospace and defence group Finmeccanica said it planned to change its name to Leonardo, after sixteenth century artist Leonardo da Vinci.

The proposed name change is part of the company’s re-structuring, which last month agreed to sell its rail and traffic signal businesses to Japan’s Hitachi in a $2.0 billion deal.

Finmeccanica said in a statement that the Hitachi deal would allow it to focus on the aerospace, defence and security businesses, in line with massive restructuring efforts under a so-called “one company” plan.

“With the execution of the new organisational and operating model as ‘One Company’ Finmeccanica has not only redefined its own structure to make it more consistent with customers and markets requirements… but it also aimed to redefine its identity,” the group said in a statement.

Shareholders will be asked to approve the change at a meeting in April. In the same statement, Finmeccanica said net profits rose to 527 million euros ($591 million) last year, up from 20 million euros the year before.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebita) came to 1.2 billion euros, up 23 percent on the previous year.

The group also lowered its net debt by 684 million euros to 3.278 billion euros, in part thanks to the sale to Hitachi, it added.

The company has met with several major sales successes in the defence sector of helicopters, electronics systems an aircraft. It is very close to signing a deal with Kuwait for the sale of 28 Eurofighters worth approximately US $8.6 billion.