The world financial crisis is hitting military budgets as well as commercial aviation, forcing Finmeccanica, Italy’s leading defense and aerospace group, to keep a close eye on the evolving situation. “Although much has been discussed about possible defense budget cuts at the international level,” chief operating officer Giorgio Zappa told AIN, “we expect allocations of new resources and so we are implementing a review of priorities rather than cuts.”
Zappa is also convinced that defense production, thanks to its dual-use aspect, can represent a solid base for a restart of the economy and pointed to the group’s greater diversification as a reason for it being less worried than other players by falling demand in any particular sector. “I am convinced that we will produce the right technical and economic solutions in all markets,” Zappa remarked. As for the civil sector, the impact of the crisis is deeper at Finmeccanica “but, again, our diversified portfolio and our willingness to create greater synergies should limit the risks of stagnation and the structural problems of single sectors.”
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