Fincantieri lands EUR 800 mln sustainability-linked loan

Italian shipbuilding giant Fincantieri has secured a substantial €800 million (USD 845 million) medium/long-term sustainability-linked loan.

The loan, which spans five years, with a pre-amortization period of three years, will support Fincantieri’s organic growth and burgeoning workload.

As informed, 70 percent of the loan is backed by a SACE guarantee, a prominent insurance-financial group directly supervised by Italy’s Ministry of Economy and Finance.

The loan is being provided by a diverse consortium of lending banks comprising BNP Paribas CIB Italia, Santander Corporate & Investment Banking, CaixaBank, Intesa Sanpaolo S.p.A. IMI Corporate & Investment Banking Division, Banco BPM, BPER Banca, Deutsche Bank, Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and BNL BNP Paribas.

This financing marks a notable commitment to sustainability, with specific performance indicators tied to Fincantieri’s 2023-2027 Sustainability Plan. These in particular relate to the shipbuilder’s reduction of Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions, improvement of energy efficiency of cruise ships delivered in Italy, and gender representation in leadership roles.

The company’s 2023-2027 Business Plan aims to create greater synergies between the company’s cruise, defense, and specialized offshore shipbuilding units to improve productivity and efficiency thus further strengthening its competitiveness. The company revealed late last year that its focus would be building up its competencies in the construction of digital and net zero ships.

The shipbuilder expects robust growth in its core business in the upcoming period, driven by naval and offshore as well as consolidation of the cruise business targeting revenues of €8.8 bn in 2025 and €9.8 bn in 2027.

Last week, the Cruise Division of MSC Group confirmed firm orders for two hydrogen-powered vessels for its luxury travel brand Explora Journeys with Fincantieri and pledged to continue its push towards a net zero-carbon emissions target by 2050 by investigating additional new and advanced environmental technologies for the luxury ships.

According to Fincantieri, the deal completes a total investment of €3.5 billion in six luxury ships for Explora Journeys.

The new vessels, EXPLORA V and EXPLORA VI, will have new energy efficiency measures and will also be capable of using alternative fuels such as bio and synthetic gas and methanol, Fincantieri said.

The shipbuilder has also recently teamed up with newcleo, a London-based nuclear technology company developing Generation IV reactors using nuclear waste as fuel, and RINA classification society to test the feasibility of nuclear naval propulsion.