MILAN (Reuters) - Fincantieri will not play a leading role in the possible construction of the bridge over the Strait of Messina, but if it is called upon to play a role it will not back down.

"The bridge over the Strait of Messina will be a kind of giant, monumental, iconic and super important infrastructure of the country and, obviously, if Italy goes ahead with this ambitious program, we will not back out, but we will certainly not be the driver because whoever will have the capabilities and the track record to do it in the infrastructure sector will have to be," the manager said, stressing that Fincantieri could be involved to ensure the success of the work.

Folgiero added, "If they ask us we will be there, but we are not famous in the world for building the Messina bridge, we are famous for ships."

Infrastructure Minister Matteo Salvini said yesterday that work on the bridge will start within two years.

Speaking later in the call, Fincantieri's number one reiterated that by 2023 the company expects to maintain full production capacity, which will allow a level of revenues substantially in line with 2022, with margins improving to values around 5 percent. The year 2022 ended with a red balance of 324 million euros partly due to non-recurring or extraneous charges. These figures, together with the below-expected estimates for this year, are penalizing the stock on the stock market, which gives up more than 5.4 percent.

Cfo Giuseppe Dado went on to explain that the flat revenue estimate for the year "is not a surprise, and for revenues to go back up we need a new wave of orders in the cruise and naval businesses."

As for overseas expansion, the group is targeting the Middle East and, in particular Saudi Arabia although not starting this year and is also looking at Latin America.

Finally, Folgiero announced that the group will give an update on its industrial strategy in the second half of May: "At the investor day for the presentation of the first quarter we will say everything about our strategy."

(Giancarlo Navach, editing Stefano Bernabei)