Maire posts 80% jump in net profit on robust order backlog

(Reuters) - Italian engineering group Maire reported strong first-half earnings on Wednesday, with net profit jumping 79.6% thanks to a robust order backlog.

Maire posted 3.4 billion euros of new orders in the first six months of the year, for a total order backlog of 16.3 billion euros. Revenue was 2.62 billion euros, up from 1.97 billion a year earlier, with net profit of 97 million euros.

"The robust backlog...and the resulting increased visibility on the Group's future growth testify to the effectiveness of our strategic initiatives," Maire CEO Alessandro Bernini said in a statement.

(Reporting Luca Fratangelo, editing by Kirsten Donovan)