Roberto Cingolani, CEO of Leonardo, the Italian Defense Group, presented on Wednesday a plan ambitious in numbers and strategic goals. Total orders of 105 billion euros, revenues at 95 billion euros, double-digit profitability in 2026, doubling of the dividend to 0.28 euros per share, with prospects for improvement. The strategy is clear: transform Leonardo from a defense and security group to a high-tech international player, focusing on massive digitization, domain interoperability, and even artificial intelligence. Over all this is the idea of joining forces in Europe "because war has changed perspectives": "Peace must be defended" is the claim of the presentation. With this idea, the Ceo attacked European antitrust: "This is an emergency moment, maybe acquisitions should be favored. Is it more important to guarantee the free market to citizens or security in a time of wars?" he wondered. Cingolani thinks the idea of an EU commissioner for defense is a good one, but when asked if it will be him, he replied, "I have already given my modest civil service with the Draghi government, I don't think it's for me that life: I'm better with nuts and bolts”.
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