Feb 26 (Reuters) - Italian cable maker Prysmian reported a 20% rise in its fourth-quarter adjusted core profit on Thursday, slightly below market expectations, driven mainly by strong margin expansion
Prysmian Projects Profit Growth by 2026, Tariffs Aid Market Expansion
By Laura Contemori
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Italian cable maker Prysmian on Thursday forecast higher earnings and cash flow for 2026, excluding a potential boost from U.S. trade measures, after its core profit missed market expectations in the fourth quarter.
Impact of U.S. Tariffs on Prysmian's Market Position
The company has been among the winners of the U.S. tariff regime, as its large U.S. business benefitted from higher duties on imported copper. Unlike its more import-reliant rivals, Prysmian sources the metal locally.
Talking to reporters after the earnings report, CEO Massimo Battaini said higher U.S. import duties would continue to add costs for cables imported from countries such as China, Korea and others.
This means importers will have to raise prices to protect their profits, affecting their competitiveness and allowing Prysmian to gain market share over time, he added.
Revenue and Manufacturing in North America
North America accounts for around 40% of Prysmian's total revenue, and the group manufactures extensively in the United States.
The company forecast adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of between 2.63 billion euros and 2.78 billion euros ($3.10 billion and $3.28 billion) for 2026, up from 2.40 billion last year.
A company-provided analysts' consensus for 2026 stood at 2.73 billion euros.
Financial Forecasts and Analyst Expectations
It sees free cash flow of 1.30-1.40 billion euros this year, while analysts had estimated it at around 1.20 billion euros. Jefferies analysts said this was a "clear positive" in a generally conservative outlook.
Quarterly adjusted EBITDA grew 20% to 622 million euros, driven by margin expansion in the transmission business, but missed analysts' average estimate of 635 million euros.
"Building on this, the leadership position of our Transmission business will be further enhanced thanks to the agreements to acquire Xtera and ACSM," Battaini said in a press release.
He told reporters Prysmian was ready for mid-sized and large acquisitions, with larger deals more likely from 2027. During an analyst call, he added North America, Latin America and Europe remained the priority regions for expansion.
Shares of the company were 1.7% lower at 1000 GMT, after a steeper fall in early trading.
($1 = 0.8475 euros)
(Reporting by Laura Contemori in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak)
