Press releases

The NewCo will carry out its first interventions in the Tre Monti area of the Bussi sul Tirino (PE) site of national interest, and will later extend its activities to areas of the Bussi industrial plant and Piano d'Orta. The company Tremonti founded The company Tremonti founded Tremonti, a NewCo specialising in soil and groundwater remediation services, has been created thanks to the expertise of four leading operators in environmental services: Ambienthesis, Herambiente (Hera Group), Sersys Ambiente and Edison. The NewCo will carry out its initial activities in the Tre Monti area of the Bussi sul Tirino (PE) site of national interest (SNI) and will gradually extend its activities to the Piano d’Orta area and the Bussi industrial plant, as soon as the legal proceedings still pending allow it to do so. This special-purpose company is an exemplary model for managing and successful resolving cases of land contaminated in the past by industrial firms in Italy, such as the former Montedison sites, which Edison is now fully responsible for recovering. The new company’s partners are Ambienthesis, a leader in remediation, environmental reclamation and special and hazardous waste treatment, recovery and disposal; Herambiente, a member of the Hera Group and Italy’s leading waste treatment operator, offering innovative and sustainable integrated management solutions thanks to its roughly 90 plants equipped with the best technologies; Sersys Ambiente, which specialises in environmental services, from waste analysis and management to remediation planning; and Edison, a leading figure in the Italian energy transition, committed to production from renewable sources, efficient use of resources and environmental services. NewCo’s first projects will be carried out in the northern part of the Tre Monti area of the Bussi sul Tirino SNI and will prolong the work carried out by Edison in this portion of the site. The technology chosen involves thermal desorption, a system of soil heating using deep pipes to evaporate and extract the volatile and semi-volatile organic substances present underground. Waste mixed with topsoil will be removed and transferred to treatment sites and, where possible, recovered. Once the Ministry of Ecological Transition has verified the results of activities on the first portion of land, the intervention will be extended to the entire northern area. The NewCo will progressively extend its work to the Piano d’Orta and industrial plant areas. Work is already underway to remove the waste present on the surface of the land in the southern area of Tre Monti. Given the sensitivity of this issue and the need to ensure constant communication with the authorities, the work is expected to be completed by 2024. In the Tre Monti area, Edison began working in 2016 with a broad research plan designed to fill the gaps in knowledge left by the previous commission’s management with regard to the type of substances present on the surface and in the subsoil. Consequently, the company secured the site by restoring capping, the surface covering system, and building a Pump & Treat plant to treat and purify the underlying groundwater, with costs fully borne by the company. Ambienthesis Ambienthesis is a Greenthesis Group company specialising in environmental remediation and treatment, recovery and disposal of hazardous and non-hazardous waste. For over 30 years, Ambienthesis has been a national leader in environmental services and waste management, offering its consolidated experience based on specific know-how in the integrated management of industrial waste. With hundreds of restored and secured areas, including Sites of National Interest (SNI), Ambienthesis is one of the leading companies in Italy in the field of remediation, a sector in which it stands out for its interventions that use the most advanced technologies. In line with the recent directives of the European Green Deal, which impose high standards for managing the waste cycle and the related technologies, and consistent with the dictates of the Green and Circular Economy, Ambienthesis and its entire Group have made innovation and environmental sustainability the cornerstones of their business model, based on a comprehensive and structured ESG strategy. Edison Edison is the oldest energy company in Europe, with over 135 years of record performances, and is one of the leading operators in the sector in Italy. It is at the forefront of the challenges involved in the energy transition, through the development of low-carbon generation, energy efficiency services and sustainable mobility, in fully in line with the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) and the objectives defined by the European Green Deal. Edison sells electricity, natural gas and energy and environmental services to 1.6 million end customers. Its operations are integrated along the electricity value chain, from production to sales of the energy component. It has a highly flexible and efficient set of power plants, consisting of 200 power stations including hydroelectric, wind, solar and combined cycle gas-fired thermoelectric plants. The Group’s net installed capacity totals 7 GW and in 2020 it generated 18.1 TWh, covering 7% of national electricity production. Today it operates in Italy and Europe, employing over 4,000 people. Sersys Ambiente Sersys Ambiente, a company present throughout Italy, acts as a point of reference – as regards regulations, operations and management – for industrial and public figures that necessarily deal with environmental issues. With over thirty years’ experience in the field of environmental services and in-depth knowledge of regulations, Sersys Ambiente operates across the board in this sector, through legal and engineering consultancy and direct interventions such as reclamation, monitoring, laboratory analyses and waste management. It has recently launched an investment strategy in the field of renewable energy, biomethane in particular. Sersys Ambiente is headquartered in Rivoli and draws on the experience of over 300 professionals with expertise in various environmental disciplines. Herambiente The Hera Group is one of Italy’s largest multi-utilities and operates in the waste management, energy and water sectors, with more than 9,000 employees committed every day to meeting a range of needs of approximately 5 million citizens located mainly in the Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Marche, Tuscany and Abruzzo regions. Publicly listed since 2003, it joined the FTSE MIB on 18 March 2019 and the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, World and Europe, on 23 November 2020. Its subsidiary Herambiente is the nation’s leading operator in the waste management sector with roughly 90 state-of-the-art plants capable of treating any type of waste. For further information: www.gruppohera.it, www.herambiente.it Press release The company Tremonti founded.pdf 2021-05-24 11:38:00 The company Tremonti founded The company Tremonti founded 2019-11-11

The consolidated quarterly report at 31 March shows further improvement in all main operating and financial indicators, with financial solidity confirmed as a strong point, as has also been recently highlighted by the upgraded rating given by S&P’s, now BBB+ with a stable outlook. Hera continues, furthermore, to create value for the areas served, promoting sustainability and innovation as strategic drivers for growth sede Hera sede Hera Financial highlights Revenues at 2,271.8 million euro (+10.5%) Ebitda at 362.0 million euro (+3.7%) Net profit for Shareholders at 132.2 million euro (+6.3%) Net financial debt shows strong improvement, now at 3,077.6 million euro, and net debt/Ebitda ratio falls to 2.71x Operating highlights Good contribution to growth coming from the Group’s main businesses, the energy sectors and waste management in particular Solid energy customer base, now reaching almost 3.4 million Further development in initiatives for the circular economy, with aspects including state of the art plants and increasingly green services for companies and citizens Today, the Hera Group’s Board of Directors, chaired by Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, unanimously approved the consolidated results for the first quarter of 2021, with all main operating and financial indicators improving, compared to the same period in the previous year, thanks to the Group’s solid, efficient and sustainable multi-business strategy and a good operating, financial and fiscal management. The energy sectors and the waste management area made a particularly important contribution. Also note the additional improvement in financial solidity, with a strong reduction in net financial debt. The results achieved confirm, once again, the validity of the Group’s business model, which balances regulated and free market activities, and combines an increasingly efficient management of services with a search for new external development opportunities. At the same time, sustainability and innovation are promoted as strategic growth drivers, in line with European policies and the objectives of the UN Agenda, creating value for shareholders and for the communities served. At 31 March 2021, the number of energy customers reached almost 3.4 million, thanks to factors including marketing initiatives and reinforced value-added services, from “green” offers to the sale and installation of LED devices, smart boilers and thermostats, as well as energy diagnoses, contracts for energy services, systems and targeted upgrading projects. The acquisition in September 2020 of the company Wölmann, which operates in the photovoltaic panel installation sector, is also part of this context and represents the main change in scope of operations compared to the first quarter of the previous year. Revenues reach approximately 2.3 billion (+10.5%) In the first quarter of 2021, revenues amounted to 2,271.8 million, up 10.5% compared to the 2,055.8 million seen in the same period of 2020. This result was sustained in particular by the energy sectors, with higher revenues from trading, higher volumes of gas sold and an increase in the price of electricity, in addition to the heat management business and activities involving value-added services for customers. Revenues from district heating and regulated network services also increased, as did those from the waste management area, thanks to energy production and a higher amount of waste treated. Ebitda rises to 362.0 million (+3.7%) Ebitda rose from 349.2 million in the first quarter of 2020 to 362.0 million at 31 March 2021, showing a 12.8 million (+3.7%) increase. This growth is due in particular to the performance achieved in the energy areas, which grew by 12.3 million overall, mainly due to higher sales margins and trading. Positive contributions also came from the waste management area and other services, while the water cycle saw a slight fall. Operating result and pre-tax profit increase Ebit rose, amounting to 223.1 million at 31 March 2021, up from 211.7 million in the same period of 2020 (+5.4%). Financial operations were largely unchanged, at 28.8 million, with an increase in charges for tax credit sales as part of ecobonus-related activities, offset by higher income for late payment indemnities on credits in the “last resort” markets. Pre-tax profit rose to 194.3 million (+6.2%). Net profit for shareholders grows to 132.2 million (+6.3%) Thanks to an improved tax rate, coming to 27.8% compared to 28.8% in the first quarter of 2020, driven by the Group’s commitment to making investments in technological, digital and environmental transformation with an eye to Utility 4.0, net profit at 31 March 2021 reached 140.3 million, up 7.7% compared to the 130.3 million seen in the same period of 2020. Profit pertaining to Group shareholders also rose to 132.2 million, up 6.3% compared to the 124.4 million seen in the same period of 2020. Operating investments rise and net financial debt improves significantly Net operating investments were up significantly, from 91.5 million at 31 March 2020 to 112.6 million (+23.1%) in the first quarter of 2021, and were mainly related to work on plants, networks and infrastructures, with investments in gas distribution concerning the large-scale meter replacement, and in the purification and sewerage area. Thanks in particular to the positive contribution coming from operational management during the quarter, a strong improvement was also seen in net financial debt, which stood at 3,077.6 million, compared to 3,227.0 million at 31 December 2020, down by approximately 150 million. Thanks to the double leverage provided by increased Ebitda and decreased net financial debt, the net debt/Ebitda ratio further improved to 2.71x, both compared to the same quarter last year (2.93x) and to the figure seen at the end of 2020 (2.87x). This data once again confirms the Group’s financial solidity, which also appears in the opinions released by major rating agencies, in particular the recent upgrade by Standard & Poor’s to BBB+ with a stable outlook. Gas Ebitda for the gas area – which includes natural gas distribution and sales services, district heating and heat management – amounted to 178.5 million in the first quarter of 2021, a sharp increase compared to the 160.9 million seen at 31 March 2020 (+11.0%). This result is linked in particular to a sharp rise in volumes sold (+38.1%), thanks to a good performance on traditional markets and new portions awarded in tenders: 8 portions of the last resort gas service in 16 regions of Italy, 5 portions of the default gas distribution service in 12 regions and 9 portions of the Consip GAS13 tender in 12 regions. Furthermore, the district heating area and the heat management business also contributed to this result, due to the increased activities linked to insulation incentives and energy efficiency works. Gas customers reached almost 2.1 million. The gas area accounted for 49.3% of Group Ebitda. Water Ebitda for the integrated water cycle area – which includes aqueduct, purification and sewerage services – went from 57.2 million in the first three months of 2020 to 55.0 million in the first quarter of 2021, a slight decrease mainly due to higher operating costs and network and plant management. These results were partially offset by higher revenues for new connections and by the bonuses for high service standards recognised by the Authority, based on investments made with a view to increasing efficiency and measures aimed at promoting and enhancing sustainability and resilience. The integrated water cycle area accounted for 15.2% of Group Ebitda. Waste Ebitda for the waste management area – which includes waste collection, treatment and disposal services – rose to 70.8 million at 31 March 2021 (+0.9%), compared to 70.2 million in the first quarter of 2020. This growth was mainly driven by the increased volumes treated and higher margins in plastics recovery, as well as higher revenues from electricity generation. Hera confirmed its position as Italy’s leader in the waste management sector, for reasons including its set of 90 advanced facilities for waste treatment, recycling and regeneration, matching European best practices within a national context characterised by a persistent lack of plants. Within a scenario showing recovery in the prices of virgin raw materials and a growing demand for recycled products, Hera also continues to develop initiatives for an increasingly circular economy, thanks to Aliplast’s outstanding capacities in plastic recycling and an increasing production of renewable energy, an area in which the Sant’Agata Bolognese (Bologna) plant for biomethane production from organic waste is a leading example. Consolidated skills in the waste management area are also an important competitive lever that the Group makes available to its customers, first and foremost companies with the Hera Business Solution, a “turnkey” multi-service offer for sustainable and integrated management of waste, water and energy. Results for sorted waste collection were also up, rising to 66.3% at 31 March 2021, compared to 65.4% during the first quarter of 2020, thanks to the many projects implemented in all geographical areas served. The waste management area accounted for 19.6% of Group Ebitda. Electricity Ebitda for the electricity area – which includes electricity generation, distribution and sales services – went from 52.5 million at 31 March 2020 to 47.2 million in the first quarter of 2021, mainly due to the fall in generation due to the changed market conditions in the dispatching service compared with the same period in the previous year, in addition to lower margins in the safeguarded market due to the different scope of the portions managed. These effects were partly offset by the contributions from trading and commercial expansion on traditional markets, supported by innovative offers, value-added services and increased investments to further improve customer experience and customer segmentation based on different needs. Thanks to these activities, the customer base also continued to grow in the electricity area, now reaching over 1.3 million, despite the fall in the number of safeguarded and protected customers. The electricity area accounted for 13.0% of Group Ebitda. The manager responsible for drafting the company’s accounting statements, Luca Moroni, declares, pursuant to article 154-bis paragraph 2 of the TUF, that the information contained in the present press release corresponds to the documentation available and to the account books and entries. The report on operations in the first quarter and related materials are available to the public at Company Headquarters and on the website www.gruppohera.it. Unaudited extracts from the intermediate report on operations at 31 March 2021 are attached. Profit & Loss (m€) 31/03/2021 Inc. % 31/03/2020 Inc. % Ch. Ch. % Sales 2,271.8 2,055.8 +216.0 +10.5% Other operating revenues 100.7 4.4% 109.0 5.3% (8.3) (7.6%) Raw material (1,209.7) (53.2%) (1,035.4) (50.4%) +174.3 +16.8% Services costs (646.9) (28.5%) (627.2) (30.5%) +19.7 +3.1% Other operating expenses (17.1) (0.8%) (12.5) (0.6%) +4.6 +36.8% Personnel costs (150.1) (6.6%) (147.3) (7.2%) +2.8 +1.9% Capitalisations 13.3 0.6% 6.8 0.3% +6.5 +94.9% Ebitda 362.0 15.9% 349.2 17.0% +12.8 +3.7% Depreciation and provisions (138.9) (6.1%) (137.5) (6.7%) +1.4 +1.0% Ebit 223.1 9.8% 211.7 10.3% +11.4 +5.4% Financial inc./(exp.) (28.8) (1.3%) (28.7) (1.4%) +0.1 +0.3% Pre tax profit 194.3 8.6% 183.0 8.9% +11.3 +6.2% Taxes (54.0) (2.4%) (52.7) (2.6%) +1.3 +2.5% Net profit 140.3 6.2% 130.3 6.3% +10.0 +7.7% Attributable to: Shareholders of the Parent Company 132.2 5.8% 124.4 6.0% +7.8 +6.3% Minority shareholders 8.1 0.4% 5.9 0.3% +2.2 +37.2% Balance Sheet (m€) 31/03/2021 Inc.% 31/12/2020 Inc.% Ch. Ch. % Net fixed assets 6,993.3 109.6% 6,983.6 109.4% +9.7 +0.1% Working capital 44.6 0.7% 53.6 0.8% (9.0) (16.8%) (Provisions) (657.5) (10.3%) (654.9) (10.2%) (2.6) +0.4% Net invested capital 6,380.4 100.0% 6,382.3 100.0% (1.9) (0.0%) Net equity 3,302.8 51.8% 3,155.3 49.4% +147.5 +4.7% Long term net financial debt 3,576.5 56.0% 3,617.1 56.7% (40.6) (1.1%) Short term net financial debt (498.9) (7.8%) (390.1) (6.1%) (108.8) +27.9% Net financial debts 3,077.6 48.2% 3,227.0 50.6% (149.4) (4.6%) Net invested capital 6,380.4 100.0% 6,382.3 100.0% (1.9) (0.0%) Press release 1Q2021.pdf 2021-05-12 14:02 Sede Hera Sede Hera 2019-11-11