Avio’s nine-month core earnings rise as U.S. expansion progresses.

Italian rocket maker Avio’s adjusted core earnings (EBITDA) rose 13.3% to 18.6 million euros ($20.77 million) in the first nine months of the year. The company said the result was helped by progress in its U.S. expansion and the completion of private equity firm Advent’s 109.4 million euro investment.

In a statement on Wednesday, the company said net revenue rose 16.7% to 409.7 million euros. The growth was attributed to increased production of Vega-C launch systems and more engine supplies for the European Space Agency’s Ariane 6 launcher.

Orders

Orders won over the nine-month period totaled about 237 million euros. Roughly half came from defense-sector contracts, while the rest were mainly linked to the Vega-C and Vega-E launch systems.

Market reaction

Avio shares fell as much as 4.6% after the results were released, but later pared losses and moved to stable trading.

An analyst at brokerage Intermonte told Reuters that the market initially reacted negatively to the absence of an upward revision to the net revenue guidance. Overall, however, the analyst views the results as positive.

Outlook

Avio expects full-year adjusted core earnings of between 29 million and 37 million euros, and an order backlog of between 2.0 billion and 2.10 billion euros.

Avio shares had risen in late October after the company announced a strategic deal with U.S. defense giant Lockheed Martin to expand solid rocket motor production.

($1 = 0.8957 euros)