Leonardo suspends 2020 guidance after booking Q1 net loss

Italian defence group Leonardo said on Thursday it was suspending its 2020 guidance after swinging to a net loss in the first quarter of the year due to the negative impact of the coronavirus outbreak. "We are not able to quantify the COVID-19 impact in 2020 yet but we strongly believe in our solid fundamentals and remain fully focused on executing our industrial plan," Chief Executive Alessandro Profumo said in a statement.

Between January and March the state-controlled group recorded a net loss of 59 million euros compared with a profit of 77 million euros in the same period last year, as extra costs linked to the health emergency hit profitability. Revenue fell 5% year-on-year to 2.6 billion euros, while orders increased to 3.4 billion euros.