News

Based on the forecast for year 2017, EBITDA amount reached roughly 980 million, the Group's path of growth will continue to focus on investments, innovation and agility, in order to seize the emerging opportunities in the utility sector. Internal growth will be favoured by efficiencies and by innovative and sustainable solutions, while the Group's financial soundness will allow external growth to proceed Operating-financial highlights 2021 EBITDA: € 1,135 million (+218 million over 2016 EBITDA) Overall industrial and financial investments: almost € 2.9 billion (+62% over the investments seen in the past five years) Net debt/EBITDA ratio remains below 3 Profits/share to increase by an annual average of roughly 5% over the duration of the Plan Dividends expected to keep rising, reaching 10.5 cents per share as early as 2020 (+17% over the last dividend paid) Industrial highlights The 5 strategic priorities confirmed: growth, efficiency and excellence, with an increasing focus on innovation and agility Group development based on a balanced mix of internal and external (M&A) growth Reconfirmation of current grants in tenders for gas distribution and urban waste collection, and confirmation of the trends of growth in the waste recycling and treatment sector, in line with the principles of a Circular Economy Strategy reflects the main transitions currently underway in the sector: Circular Economy, Customer Experience, Utility 4.0 Objective of over 3 million energy customers at 2021, with 30,000 new gas and electricity customers acquired as of the current year and a reinforcement of commercial synergies, thanks to the recent acquisition of a further 29.5% of Hera Comm Marche Shared value to reach over € 450 million Preliminary consolidated results for 2017 show roughly 980 million in EBITDA, and a plan geared towards growth This morning, the Hera Group's Board of Directors, which met to discuss the Business plan to 2021, also examined the preliminary consolidated results for 2017, which confirm a year-end EBITDA of roughly € 980 million, up almost 7% over the 917 million seen at 31 December 2016 and exceeding the forecast of the previous business plan. The Group's financial solidity will thus see an improvement in the net debt/EBITDA ratio, at approximately 2.6x. On the firm basis provided by this result and by an increased financial flexibility, the Board of Directors approved the new Plan to 2021, which reflects a strong commitment to further growth in the Group's businesses, within a scenario marked by far-reaching changes. A deeply evolving scenario The scenario promises to be denser than ever in events that will bring about a profound evolution in almost all sectors in which the Group is active. In a framework showing clear and positive signals of economic recovery, Italian operators will be called to participate in the process, already underway thanks to the tenders for gas distribution announced by the Authority, of a significant rationalisation in the number of operators. In the waste collection sector, considering the recent transfer of power to the national Authority for energy, gas and the water service (renamed ARERA), service concession tenders which have already expired or will do so during the next five years are expected to be initiated. Other regulatory changes are also expected for segments involving protected energy service customers, intended to promote a further increase in added value for the services offered and greater competition on the marketplace. To this one must add the ongoing processes of consolidation in the energy sales and waste treatment sectors, which are currently among the most fragmentary in Europe and are, in the environmental services sector, at the root of the country's shortcomings in efficiency and infrastructures. The investment plan and the solidity of the Group's assets Faced with the numerous and diversified opportunities offered by the new scenario, the Plan to 2021 foresees investments amounting to almost € 2.9 billion, up roughly 400 million over the previous strategic plan. On the one hand, they will serve to fuel growth over the upcoming five years, and on the other to spark a transformation of Group businesses towards the new industrial paradigms of Circular Economy and Utility 4.0. Over 70% of the investments expected by the Plan will in fact be dedicated to networks, partially going towards a reconfirmation of the concessions for gas distribution in the areas served, and partially to significant interventions in infrastructure modernisation and development, such as installing electronic meters, completing the Rimini seawater protection plan and upgrading the Servola and Cà Nordio purifiers. Furthermore, investments in innovative projects, such as extending smart grids to aqueducts or introducing new technologies for optimising purification sludge recovery, will allow an increase in network efficiency and a reduction in and energy and material consumption. This investment plan proves to be sustainable from a financial point of view, thanks to a positive and rising cash generation, sufficient to cover the investments themselves and dividend payments. The Group's financial solidity, as foreseen by the Plan, expressed in a 2021 net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.9, will potentially leave room for additional investments, used to grasp opportunities not currently included in the Plan, without jeopardising the parameters that the Group has long maintained as a reference point. Strategy confirmed for seizing the opportunities offered by the scenario and creating shared value The actions envisaged by the Group will be founded on its fundamental principles, efficiency, excellence, growth, innovation and agility; this set of strategic priorities has led the Group to set in place, ahead of time, the necessary preconditions to adequately deal with the changing scenario that lies ahead. The strategy outlined in the Plan is concretely articulated according to the paradigms of a Circular Economy and the opportunities offered by Utility 4.0, through a growing digitalisation of processes, data collection and analysis and the widespread use of "intelligent" infrastructures. The Group, which has always been attentive to the issue of sustainability, in 2016 furthermore began financial reporting as to Shared Value, i.e. the portion of profits generated by projects that benefit the company and at the same time contribute to reaching the UN's 2030 Agenda (covering at least 10 of the 17 objectives indicated). In 2016 this portion accounted for roughly 30% of Group EBITDA and it is expected to rise to 40% or € 450 million overall (amounting to a 150 million increase) within 2021. Increasing EBITDA objectives, balanced between the various business areas, between regulated and free market activities, and between internal and external growth In view of the investment plan to be launched covering the upcoming five years, EBITDA is expected to reach € 1,135 million in 2021, with an almost 220 million increase over the 917 million recorded at the end of 2016. This growth will prove once again to be balanced between the Group's various business areas, while maintaining its current conservative risk profile thanks to the breakdown of its activity portfolio and the wider range of opportunities for growth offered by the reference scenario. A contribution to the increase in EBITDA over the duration of the Plan will indeed come from all areas (Networks, Waste and Energy), and will also be balanced between profits coming from regulated and free market activities and between internal and external growth. As regards internal growth, a high degree of attention towards extracting efficiencies has been confirmed, as has the continuation of plans to expand in markets, with an overall contribution at 2021 of € 138 million (up 17% over the 118 million of the previous five-year plan), sustained by progress in innovation in addition to the support coming from development investments. Further impetus towards growth will come from the lever of gas tenders, with an incremental EBITDA expected to reach 29 million through a reconfirmation of concessions in the current reference areas. For tenders involving waste collection the Plan is based on the idea of reconfirming services in the areas now served, while waiting for the future arrangements set out by the national Authority, ARERA. Concerning external development (M&A), the Plan expects a 107 million euro contribution to growth in EBITDA over the five years in question. This contribution is in line with what the Hera Group has achieved in the past, ever since it was established, through both mergers with other multi-utilities and acquisitions of mono-business companies operating in the energy sales and waste treatment sectors. The latter have been included in the Plan only as regards the operation concerning the Aliplast Group, carried out in 2017 (through the subsidiary company Herambiente, Hera now holds 80% of this Group, with the possibility of acquiring the remaining 20% within 2022), while additional opportunities offered by liberalised markets have been left "on top" of the objectives contained in the Plan. Increasing value for shareholders and an improved dividend policy The Plan confirms the Group's care towards creating value for shareholders, with profits per share increasing by an annual average of approximately 5% and an improved dividend policy with respect to both the past and the forecast of the previous Business plan. The dividend will indeed rise to 9.5 cents/share as of the payment pertaining to 2017 (to be made during the current financial year) and settle at 10.0 cents in 2018 and 2019, reaching 10.5 cents for 2020 and 2021 (+17% compared to the last dividend paid). Networks: smart infrastructures and excellence in services at the root of the Utility 4.0 model The majority of the growth over the duration of the Plan is expected to come from the networks area: EBITDA traceable to electricity and gas distribution, the water cycle and remote heating services will go from € 424 million in 2016 to 552 million in 2021, thus contributing to roughly half of the Group's overall EBITDA. A strong impulse will come from the over 2 billion in investments dedicated to the evolution and modernisation of networks, by adopting innovative technologies able to guarantee an excellent customer service (efficiency, safety, information exchange) and improve management competitiveness, with the aim of reconfirming the concessions already gained in the Group's reference areas. Efficiencies remain a strategic priority, and will contribute to growth over the five-year period with 24 million overall, to which one must add 15 million coming from the innovations introduced in networks (from energy efficiency projects applied to the most energy consuming activities, to automation systems in networks). Consolidating the Group's role as a reference point in the waste sector The waste sector EBITDA is expected to grow from the € 231 million seen in 2016 to 282 million in 2021. This growth will be sustained by the current positive trends in demand, and by approximately € 600 million in investments over the duration of the Plan. The latter will be dedicated to fuelling innovation in environmental services and maintaining an appropriate capacity of waste treatment in the reference area, without neglecting trustworthiness and sustainability. One concrete example of the application of the best technologies currently available is the creation in the Bologna area of the first biomethane production plant, which will become functional within 2018 and allow the circle to be "come home": from collecting the organic part of sorted waste and agricultural trimmings to introducing the methane produced into the network, achieving a particularly sustainable cycle and clear benefits for air quality. Particular attention will continue to go to developing sorted waste, expected to grow from 56% in 2016 to 70% in 2021, including improvement from a qualitative point of view as well, in order to gain the most value from the portions collected and increasingly reduce both environmental impact and tariffs for citizens. Efficiencies remain a cornerstone for the expected results, which will also be sustained by the innovations foreseen (the latter will contribute roughly 8 million to overall growth in the waste area). Furthermore, in 2017 the entrance of Aliplast within the Group's scope of operations has allowed Hera, already a leader in the sector, to introduce a new phase and be among the nation's precursors in developing a model of a circular economy. In the future as well, attention will go to solutions able to further increase the circularity of the Group's activities. The avant-garde position it has reached in treatment, reuse, recycling and energy valorisation thus becomes a heritage made available to industrial customers. The latter already see the Hera Group as a point of reference and a trustworthy partner, able to provide them with support in the evolution of their production processes, in line with the principles of a circular economy, by offering them an all-round service in waste management. Energy: over 3 million customers The energy sector will increase its EBITDA from the € 241 million seen in 2016 to 259 million in 2021. The challenging objective set by the Group is to reach over 3 million energy customers by the end of the Plan, making the most of both internally developing its own customer base, in line with its track record, and the opportunities offered by the market. These involve, for example, extinguishing protected categories in electricity, or the upcoming assignment of last resort services, in which the Hera Group has accumulated a solid experience over the years. Beginning with the over 2.3 million customers reached in 2017, the enlarged customer base will be able to rely on 30,000 new energy clients in the current year: 13,000 protected electricity customers in the municipality of Gorizia, recently acquired through the subsidiary EnergiaBaseTrieste, with 17,000 further gas and electricity customers soon added in the Marche and Abruzzo regions, thanks to a binding deal signed in the last few days. The strong point of both operations lies in integrating a local presence, in a physical sense, that is typical of smaller businesses, with the potential for innovation in services and offers, and the competitiveness that come from belonging to a Group that is among the main operators in the Italian energy market. This is the light in which Marche Multiservizi's acquisition of 29.5% of the share capital of Hera Comm Marche must also be seen, as brought to completion last December, in line with the consolidated decision to reinforce both the integration between Group companies and synergies across the areas served. The customer base will be enlarged thanks to the introduction of new offers, increasingly innovative and personalised, that combine energy sales with the supply of services with added value that are closely tied to the commodity itself (for example, tools for increasing energy efficiency in households). Furthermore, the Group will be able to defend its own customer base with increasing attention to customer experience, turning to digitalised processes and adopting efficient data management and analysis systems to guarantee an excellent service and accelerate the "time to market". Lastly, thanks to the knowhow gained in energy efficiency both within the company and when acting for third parties, the Group will be able to interface with public administrations, condominiums or businesses as reference partners for defining and implementing effective solutions for energy saving, an element which is increasingly crucial in local and national energy strategies. Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano, Hera Chairman The reference scenario shows deep changes occurring in all sectors in which the Group is active, and requires us to "change gears" in order to seize the opportunities that we have been preparing to handle for some time now. The challenging objectives contained in the Plan rest on the solid results achieved until present, and that we wish to turn into further growth from all points of view, both in terms of size and regarding improvements in quality, risk profile and sustainability. The targets reached, as is also demonstrated by the 2017 forecast, allow us to look towards an incremental profit projection compared to the previous Plan, and towards growing payments to shareholders, with an additional increase in dividends, following up on the one announced last year. Stefano Venier, Hera CEO Already today, the new frontiers of circularity and shared value are a reality for the Group, which it can use as levers for an increasingly avant-garde industrial development, with the goal of meeting our customers' evolving needs and facing the urgent drive towards sustainability set out in the agendas of all countries. Our Plan envisages an intense investment program, amounting to almost 3 billion euros, confirming the Group's financial solidity and leaving further room for additional opportunities. pi_2021_870x320.1515584703.jpg Pianoindustriale870 For further informations /-/hera-group-approves-business-plan-to-2021-1 Press release Pianoindustriale110 Pianoindustriale110 2018-01-10

The young company, in which the telecommunications company Acantho holds an interest, will be at the world's largest exhibition of consumer technology products with its first creation, a small digital butler that helps users - automatically and remotely - manage the devices of their homes and offices. It is an open, smart and expandable solution designed to make life easier while saving energy, time and money The Bolognese start-up Iooota, in which the telecommunications company Acantho holds an interest, is one of the 10 Italian companies that from January 9 to 12 will exhibit at the Las Vegas Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2018), the world's largest fair of consumer technology products. Selected by ICE-Agenzia with the patronage of the MISE, Iooota will participate in the first Italian, "Made in Italy - The Art of Technology" mission, with which Italy intends to promote its own path towards innovation, to combine technology, style and design. Iooota, in particular, will be present with Jarvis, a small five-sided robot that can "dialogue" with all the devices used in an office or home. Already a winner of a Digital 360 Awards Jarvis transforms homes into intelligent subjects that respond in an integrated, fast and simple way to the needs of those who live in them, under the most modern protocols of the so-called "Internet of Things" (IoT). A real digital butler, in short, who will land in Las Vegas to show the world what he is capable of. It's really tough to find something Jarvis doesn't know how to do or that he can't learn. Energy saving, safety, entertainment, healthcare: there are so many areas in which it can help. Using a simple app on a smartphone, and remotely, Jarvis can control lights, adjust the temperature of individual rooms, run large appliances such as washing machines and also smaller devices such as sound systems, interact with alarm systems, send messages to warn of gas leaks, flooding, fires, break-ins, and it can also be very helpful for those who have elderly relatives living alone or small children. Moreover, by selecting some preset modes - such as "good morning", "good night", "in" and "out" - Jarvis acts simultaneously and in a coordinated manner on several devices: with "good morning", for example, it raises the thermostat temperature, turns on the coffee machine and starts playing music; by selecting "out", instead, it turns off heating and lights and activates the alarm system. If intrusions or suspicious movements occur, it sends security camera pictures to the user's smartphone. Applications don't end there, of course, because Jarvis looks to the future and its technology is designed to interface with devices and services that have yet to reach the market. Jarvis will be available in 2018, with the objective of being a useful tool to simplify the lives of many, helping to save energy, time and money. For all these reasons Acantho has decided to sponsor the project and has become Iooota's industrial partner. The Hera Group - which Acantho belongs to - has always been mindful of the best start-ups that appear in its area, and thus confirms its strategic focus on innovation, especially when it translates into solutions that, as for the robot designed by Iooota, take meaningful steps forward in terms of energy efficiency, consumption control, environmental protection and, more broadly, quality of life. "We are very pleased - says Luca Degli Esposti, Founder and CEO of Iooota - that Jarvis's potential has come to light to the point of offering us the opportunity to participate in the Italian mission to Las Vegas. There is an Italian way for innovation which we deeply believe in and that Jarvis interprets openly and creatively, communicating with those who use it, learning their tastes and habits and thus becoming an additional, active member of the office, of the home, or of the family that hosts it. Cooperation with the other companies - continues Degli Esposti - is also very important to develop the great growth potential of Jarvis: our robot, in fact, can increase the efficiency and sustainability with which resources of primary importance are consumed, such as gas and electricity but it can also raise the value of an increasingly broad set of technological devices, enhancing their functions, bringing them together and giving them, literally, a voice". "Believing in innovation and in dreams - says Roberto Vancini, President of Acantho - means never ceasing to be curious. Ultimately, this is the greatest lesson that comes from a young and fresh business like Iooota, which we are delighted to work with. Fifteen years ago - continues Vancini - we were among the first to invest in the development of a proprietary ultra-wide bandwidth fibre-optic network: we did so to provide increasingly efficient services to our customers but also because we knew that all this would encourage the development of technologies that could not yet even be imagined at the time. Jarvis is one of them. We are extremely pleased with the awards he is receiving internationally, and l can't wait to see how he will be received by the market." jarvis870.1533304471.jpg Jarvis_870 Related contents 20180105_Jarvis_the_robot_of_the_Bologna_based_start_up_Iooota_on_stage_in_Las_Vegas.1533304472.pdf Jarvis_110 Jarvis_110 2018-08-03

Thanks to this operation, Italgas will further reinforce its presence in Sardinia while Hera continues its process of rationalising Group subsidiaries Italgas and Hera signed today a binding agreement for transferral to Italgas of 100% of Medea S.p.A.. The company has the concession for gas distribution and sale in the city of Sassari. Medea's overall enterprise value has been set at € 24.1 million. At the closing of the transaction, the price will be paid entirely in cash, net of debt. The transaction is expected to be concluded within the first few months of 2018 and is subject to a number of pre-closing requirements. Medea serves roughly 13,000 customers, all residents in the urban area of Sassari, with annual gas volumes distributed amounting to over 5 million cubic meters. The company's potential pool is of approximately 30,000 users. The network, which in the future may be converted to natural gas, extends for over 190 km and is currently fuelled by LPG through a storage and production plant located on the outskirts of the city. Hera_Italgas870.1513853697.jpg Hera-Italgas870 Read more Read more 20171221_Press_release.1513849588.pdf Tommasi_Galli_Venier110 Tommasi_Galli_Venier110 2017-12-21

Today, Herambiente completed the purchase of a further 40% of the Treviso company's shares, and the ensuing change in governance. The remaining 20% of the shares of this national leader in plastic recycling will be acquired within June 2022, as foreseen in the deal signed last January Today in Bologna, Herambiente, a Hera Group company and leader in Italy in waste treatment and recovery, completed its purchase of an additional 40% of the shares of Aliplast, a primary national figure in plastic collection and recycling and subsequent regeneration. With this operation, which follows up on the first step taken on 3 April 2017, the amount of Aliplast shares held by the Hera Group rises to 80%. As foreseen by the binding deal signed by both parties in January, the remaining 20% of Aliplast shares will be purchased within June 2022. The sum paid by Herambiente in purchasing the further 40% of Aliplast comes to € 51.8 million, which includes the contribution collected as an energy-intensive company and the earn-out portion for having reached increasing results as regards EBITDA in 2016. The purchase was carried out with the Group's own resources. Since the majority of shares is now held by the Hera Group, Aliplast's governance has been modified. In particular, Aliplast's Shareholders Meeting, which came together immediately following the completion of the additional 40% by Herambiente, resolved to enlarge its Board of Directors, going from five to seven members, four representing the Hera Group and three from Aligroup. The new and thus composed BoD, in its first sitting, which took place on today's date, appointed Carlo Andriolo and Roberto Alibardi respectively as CEO and Chairman of the company. The acquisition of Aliplast, which is to be considered alongside the similar operations finalised in 2015 and 2017 involving the Treviso company Geo Nova and the Tuscan companies Waste Recycling and Teseco, has allowed the Hera Group to consolidate its own market presence with a distinctive trait, both unique and concretely in line with the principles of a circular economy. This element makes it possible to offer the Group's clients trustworthy and ever-more integrated solutions, able to complete and round off the virtual circle of sustainability: from collection and treatment of plastic deriving from production scrap waste, to the regeneration of new products. Due precisely to its own specific features, Aliplast was one of the elements that qualified the Hera Group to be admitted to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's international CE100 program, which brings together the world's leading 100 companies that stand out for their commitment to the transition to a circular economy. Founded in 1982 by Roberto Alibardi and headquartered in Ospedaletto di Istrana (Treviso), Aliplast is a national leader in industrial plastic waste collection and in regenerated polymer recycling and production, with roughly 80,000 tonnes of plastic material recycled every year. It was the first company in Italy to reach a full integration spanning the entire plastic lifecycle: from environmental services in managing and collecting packaging and industrial scrap waste to manufacturing and market sales of packaging products and materials made out of plastic recycled by the company itself. Aliplast employs approximately 350 people in its five Italian and three foreign (Spain, France and Poland) facilities. firma_aliplast870.1513253651.jpg firmaaliplast870 Read more http://ha.gruppohera.it Herambiente website press_release.1513253652.pdf aliplast110 aliplast110 2017-12-14