Italy’s Prysmian to invest 200 million euros to build U.S. submarine cable plant

MILAN (Reuters) – Italy’s Prysmian plans to invest around 200 million euros ($226 million) to build a plant in the U.S. to produce submarine power transmission cables, CEO Valerio Battista said to the media in remarks confirmed by a company spokesman.

The plant, to be built in Brayton Point, Massachusetts, is part of two contracts worth a total of almost $900 million that the world’s largest cable maker has won in the Unites States on two offshore wind farm projects.

Battista said the company would officially proceed with the plan after it completes “a due diligence on permits and feasibility” for the plant in mid-January.

The company spokesman said the 200 million euro investment was part of Prysmian’s planned capital expenditure under its current business plan.

Battista said the group aimed to double to 400 million euros in five years the core earnings (EBITDA) of its high-margin ‘project’ business unit, which deals with high-voltage power cables in large infrastructure and includes the U.S. contracts Prysmian announced last week.

($1 = 0.8864 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Bernadette Baum)