Prysmian, a Milan-based company that manufactures cables for telecommunications and energy transmission, reported a loss of up to 4.1 percent today on the Milan stock exchange, a result that the specialized agency Teleborsa described as “poor.”
THE 2025 RESULTS DO NOT CONVINCE THE MARKETS
Yet just a few days ago the company presented excellent economic results for 2025: net profit at 1.2 billion euros (74 percent higher year-on-year), EBITDA at 2.4 billion (+24 percent), cash flow at 1.1 billion (about +16 percent) and debt decreasing to 3 billion (compared to 4.2 billion recorded at the end of 2024).
In fact, already last week, following the publication of these figures, Prysmian’s stock had lost up to 4.8 percent on the stock exchange: the market was not impressed by the results which, although excellent, turned out to be in line with expectations, or slightly lower. The company then managed to close the trading session flat thanks to statements by CEO Massimo Battaini about the possibility of new acquisition operations.
THE DOWNGRADE BY BERENBERG
Last month the German bank Berenberg lowered its recommendation on Prysmian’s stock from buy to hold, but raised the target price from 75 euros to 92 euros. The downgrade was not due to the cable sector’s performance – indeed, according to Berenberg the prospects are “very promising” thanks to the expansion of data centers and the electrification of energy consumption – but rather to Prysmian’s “recent outperformance” which “leaves little room for further increase.”
Furthermore, according to the German institute, in the coming years Prysmian’s advantage could diminish due to the expansion of rival companies such as Nexans (French) and Nkt (Danish).
INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS PENALIZE PRYSMIAN (AND OTHERS)
Today’s drop in Prysmian, instead, would be explained by the general weakness of the Ftse Mib, the Milan stock exchange index that gathers the forty largest Italian companies by market capitalization: it lost about 4 percent. In addition to Prysmian, insurance companies Generali and Unipol and banks such as UniCredit, Intesa Sanpaolo, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, and Banco Bpm also performed poorly, all down about 5 percent. Luxury groups such as Brunello Cucinelli and Moncler were also negative, both at -6 percent.
Not only the Italian stock exchange, however, but also European ones are affected by the military crisis in the Middle East and what it could mean for global economic growth, given the rises in oil and natural gas prices.
The problem, in short, is not specific to Prysmian – whose results nevertheless hide some weaknesses or estimates below expectations, as seen – but concerns European stock markets in general.
