Hera Group presents Business Plan to 2028
BUSINESS PLAN TO 2028, OPERATING AND FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS Five-year gross investments at 5.1 billion euro Return on net invested capital at 9.5% Structural growth in Ebitda reaching 1.7 billion euro EPS to rise by approximately 6% CAGR Dividends up 21% (rising to 17 cents per share) and average annual yield at roughly 5% Average annual total shareholder return (TSR) at 11%. Net debt/Ebitda stably below 3x over the period covered by the plan and projected at 2.8x in 2028 BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY HIGHLIGHTS A portfolio balanced between regulated and free-market activities maintained, generating resilient results and capable of grasping emerging opportunities 2.6 billion euro in investments aligned with the European Taxonomy for Sustainable Investments (96% of eligible investments) Shared-value investments amounting to 77% over the entire five-year Plan 45% increase in shared-value (CSV) Ebitda over the period covered by the Plan, reaching 66% of total Ebitda in 2028 Commitment to reduce total CO2 emissions by 37% within 2030 and Net Zero by 2050 confirmed 25% of total investments will contribute to digitisation and innovation, 47% to increasing the resilience of infrastructures to climate change and 60% to the ecological transition 10.8 billion euro in economic value distributed over the 2024-2028 five-year period to stakeholders in the areas in which the Group operates 2024 PRELIMINARY RESULTS, HIGHLIGHTS Ebitda exceeds 1.55 billion euro (+4% vs 2023) Net debt/Ebitda ratio below 2.6x (stable compared to 2023) Dividends forecast at 15 eurocents (+7.1% vs 2023), higher than expected in the previous Plan The Hera Group’s Board of Directors, chaired by Executive Chairman Cristian Fabbri, reviewed the preliminary results for 2024 results and approved the Business Plan to 2028. Cristian Fabbri, Executive Chairman of Hera Group: “A 5.1-billion-euro investment plan, rising by 46% compared to the previous five-year period and supporting sustainable industrial development that increases the resilience of our infrastructures, will allow us to target a 2028 Ebitda coming to 1.7 billion euro, supported by visible growth, both internal and external. This growth fully meets the objective of creating shared value for all stakeholders: profits will indeed increase by 30% (from 2023 to 2028), as will the contribution coming from sustainable activities to Group Ebitda, reaching 66%. The improvement in the objectives of the new Business Plan, along with the positive forecasted for 2024, allow us to revise our dividend policy upwards, proposing a 7% increase, compared to 2024, as early as 2025, reaching 21% by 2028. The economic value distributed over the 5 years covered by the Plan to stakeholders in the areas in which we operate also grows, to almost 11 billion euro.” Orazio Iacono, CEO of the Hera Group: "For 2024, we expect to close with Ebitda over 1.55 billion euro, a result supported by all businesses in our portfolio, especially structural activities. This is even more significant when compared to the already outstanding 2023, which was affected by several non-recurring revenue opportunities, above all in the energy sector. This performance allowed us to fund an increase in investments and to further improve our financial solidity, with a net debt/Ebitda ratio below 2.6x, stable compared to the previous year. These good results are perfectly consistent with the new Business Plan, which forecasts 5.1 billion euro in gross investments, of which roughly 3 billion euro will be dedicated to the green transition in the areas served. The significant financial commitment required to support the investment plan, benefitting industrial development, will in any case be financed by a strong cash generation, which will also make it possible to keep financial leverage below the prudential level of 3x through to 2028, confirming our financial solidity and creating further flexibility to seize future opportunities". 2024 PRELIMINARY RESULTS The year that just ended saw a positive performance of the industrial margins of all businesses in the portfolio, with Ebitda expected to exceed 1,550 million euro, as against 1,495 million euro in 2023. The “structural” growth observed in the preliminary results, mainly supported by factors involved in organic growth, is even more significant when compared to 2023 Ebitda adjusted for non-recurring contributions, totalling roughly 100 million euro, at 1,395 million euro. A robust cash generation, also supported by efficient working capital management, allowed the net debt/Ebitda ratio to remain below 2.6x, in line with the 2023 result. Considering these figures, the dividend policy was revised upwards: the Board of Directors is expected to propose a dividend payment of 15 eurocents per share, up 7.1% with respect to the 2023 coupon paid in 2024, to be compared with the 3.5% growth forecast in the previous Business Plan (14.5 eurocents). BUSINESS PLAN TO 2028 The new Plan’s strategic framework confirms creating sustainable value benefiting all stakeholders thanks to a balanced business portfolio as the Hera Group’s goal, developing resilient industrial assets even in a scenario marked by continuous volatility and an increasing frequency of extreme weather events linked to climate change. Creating value: a target of 1.7 billion euro for 2028 Ebitda, with a 30% rise in profits The Group’s strategy focuses on creating value through four main growth levers: an efficient allocation of capital to investment projects with the best sustainability-risk-return profiles, expansion of market shares, an enlarged scope of operations thanks to M&A transactions and efficiency gains in both operating and financial costs. The plan aims to generate value benefiting all stakeholders, through financial, environmental and social sustainability objectives. The plan envisages a structural growth of Ebitda by 475 million Euro to 2028 with a CAGR of +7% exactly reflecting the targets set out in the previous Business Plan. This structural growth will more than compensates the eventual shortfall during the period covered by the Plan of some temporary business opportunities of the amount of 170 million euro and drive in any case Group Ebitda to 1,700 million euro in 2028, up from the previous target of the Plan to 2027. Focus on the sustainable development of the entire regional ecosystem, with steady growth in shared-value Ebitda, at over 1.1 billion euro in 2028 (66% of total Ebitda) The Hera Group has included initiatives in its Plan that have adequate profitability and are consistent with operating-financial balance, which at the same time guarantee that sustainable value creation is enhanced. By maintaining a focus on decarbonisation, circular economy, resilience and innovation, “shared-value Ebitda” is expected to increase significantly, exceeding 1,100 million euro in 2028, as against 776 million euro in 2023, reaching 66% of the Group’s total Ebitda and respecting the target of 70% in 2030. In the 2024-2028 five-year period, shared-value Ebitda will increase by 45%, reflecting the growing weight of initiatives that not only generate margins for the company, but are also in line with the goals on the UN Agenda. Gross investments at over 5 billion euro, with financial leverage remaining below 3x Over the 2024-2028 period, the Business Plan calls for total investments amounting to 5.1 billion euro. This financial commitment is 6% higher than the one included in the previous strategic document and 46% higher than the investments made over the last five years. Indeed, in addition to the 4.6 billion euro of investments directly financed by the Hera Group, almost 500 million in resources will come from the PNRR and other institutions. Of these investments, 61% will be earmarked for regulated businesses, while the remaining 39% will go towards fuelling the growth of free-market businesses. More than half of the investments (2.5 billion euro, or 54%) will be dedicated to networks. Furthermore, approximately 8% of the resources will be used to seize external growth opportunities. In line with the content of the European framework, the Group estimates that operating investments coming to 2.6 billion euro (or 96% of eligible investments) will be aligned with the European Taxonomy for sustainable projects, thus fully accessing subsidised sustainable finance instruments, with benefits also in terms of financial costs. 77% of the investment plan (or 4 billion euro) will go towards initiatives capable of creating “shared-value Ebitda”. For further information Press release Visit Investors web area PrimoPiano_Piano-Industriale_ENG_rev.png Development, resilience and creating value shared with all stakeholders confirmed as the strategic pillars of the new business plan, which allocates more than 5 billion euro in investments to accelerate the achievement of ecological transition targets and further increase the resilience of networks and plants PrimoPiano_BP2024-2028_110x150_eng.jpg