News

This comes as further recognition of the company’s approach to creating shared value for all stakeholders We have been confirmed for the fifth consecutive time in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Following up on the previous editions, we were included in both the European and global indexes. The DJSI, an authoritative international stock market index, includes the highest performing listed companies in the Environmental, Social and Governance & Economics dimensions. More specifically, we have reconfirmed ourselves among the world leaders in its sector for the fourth time in the last five years. A recognition that confirms both the results achieved and the complete and transparent sustainability reporting, along with its strategic approach in pursuing the creation of shared value for all stakeholders. This strategy has also brought further elements perfectly consistent with this approach during 2024: the Good Work Deal to define strategies and commitments on safety, inclusion, training and environmental sustainability the Climate Transition Plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 Hera_Pro for the sustainable development of the entire supply chain We have also been present for some years in a row in the top ten of Refinitiv’s international Diversity & Inclusion Index ranking, for our commitment to promoting diversity, inclusion and people development. We are the first Italian company in the ESG Identity Corporate Index 2024 (third time in the last four years), for the full and conscious integration of sustainability policies in our business strategies. For further information Press release sede_bo_870 1.png sede_bo_110.jpg

This funding will make it possible to accelerate the Group’s strategic investments for developing innovative initiatives aimed at producing renewable energy without further land consumption, thus promoting the energy transition and decarbonisation in Emilia-Romagna The Hera Group has been awarded 9.4 million euro to finance two pioneering projects in the development of advanced agrivoltaic systems. This funding falls within the measures of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), as Investment 1.1 “Agrivoltaic Development”, under Mission 2 “Green Revolution and Ecological Transition”, Component 2, “Renewable Energy, Hydrogen, Grid and Sustainable Mobility”. The plants will make an important contribution to the energy transition in Emilia-Romagna thanks to their total peak power coming to over 19 MW, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 11,000 Italian households, with savings amounting to 7,700 tonnes of CO³ per year, equal to the absorption capacity of 830 hectares of forest, corresponding to about 1,200 football pitches. More specifically, 6.6 million euro have been allocated to the Hera Group’s project for developing an Energy Park in Faenza, while 2.8 million euros will go to the Cesena project of Horowatt, a newco established by Hera and Orogel, an agricultural cooperative company. These NRRP grants will reinforce the Hera Group’s investments in the renewable energy sector and the installation of agrivoltaic plants, and give further recognition to Hera’s commitment in the field of energy transition and decarbonisation in favour of the areas served. Agrivoltaic development projects are part of the strategy outlined in the Group’s Business Plan, which includes numerous initiatives and investments to achieve carbon neutrality, reduce emissions and increase the production of green energy. These initiatives also fall under the Group’s Climate Transition Plan, which aims to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050. Horowatt: Orogel’s green agriculture 4.0 revolution Horowatt will construct an innovative agrivoltaic plant at the Cesena facility of the Orogel Group, capable of producing roughly 8 GWh each year, more than 80% of which will be self-consumed energy used by the agricultural cooperative’s own plants. The agrivoltaic plant will be built and managed by Horowatt and will integrate with the existing cogeneration plant built and managed by Hera Servizi Energia, the Hera Group’s ESCo. This is a highly important work, both for reducing Orogel’s energy costs and for its environmental benefits. In fact, it is estimated that the plant will lead to an annual saving of about 2,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted. Faenza Energy Park: an urban forest with renewable energy production The Faenza Energy Park will be built on a vast area, covering about 70 hectares to the west of the city. This new plant will consist of over 22,000 double-sided panels with a total power of about 14 MW and is estimated to produce 21.5 GWh of electricity per year, equivalent to the consumption of about 7,500 families, with an annual carbon dioxide saving of over 5,700 tonnes. The electricity produced will be directly fed into the grid, significantly reducing Faenza’s carbon footprint and increasing the city’s energy self-sufficiency. For further information Press release EnergyPark_Faenza_870 1.png EnergyPark_Faenza_110.jpg

The annual report highlights the progress achieved by signatories in combating plastic pollution. Hera is the only Italian company in the sector to sign up to the initiative. It plans to increase the amount of plastic collected and sent for recycling by 2025 The Global Commitment Annual Progress Report 2024, which provides a detailed overview of the progress made by the more than 500 signatories of the Global Commitment in the fight against plastic waste pollution, was presented today. Launched in 2018 by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global Commitment brings together companies, governments, and NGOs in a concrete effort to promote the transition to a circular economy and innovation in materials and business models, while addressing plastic waste pollution. The signatories to the initiative, including the Hera Group, the only Italian utility company to sign up to it, commit to setting ambitious targets to report on and to publicly report progress annually. The 2024 Annual Report highlights, among others, the following progress: The signatories' efforts have prevented the use of 9.6 million tonnes of virgin plastic since 2018, equivalent to 1 trillion single-use plastic bags. For the sixth consecutive year, signatories continued to increase the use of post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) containers. By increasing the use of recycled plastic, the signatories are avoiding the extraction of one barrel of oil every two seconds, eliminating the equivalent of the carbon emissions of a city of almost 750,000 people. In particular, the Hera Group has committed to increase the following by 2025 (compared to 2017): plastic collected in the municipalities served by 30%; plastic sorted and sent for recycling in its plants by 50%; plastic recycled by Aliplast by 70%. The Hera Group’s figures at the end of 2023 indicate that the path taken is the right one. With regard to the plastics collected in the municipalities served, the multi-utility reached its 2025 target three years ahead of schedule, also thanks to the contribution of citizens who, in recent years, have improved sorting with a view to recycling. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation The Ellen MacArthur Foundation is an international charity whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a circular economy to address some of the greatest challenges of our time, such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution from plastic sources. Founded in 2010, the Foundation works with a network of public and private sector actors, as well as academia, to design and build circular economy initiatives and solutions. Since 2017, the Hera Group has taken part in the Foundation's programme. For further information Consult the Global Commitment Annual Report 2024 img_primo_piano_commitment.png Global Commitment 2024_110.png

The first nine months of the year closed with growth in the main financial indicators and in capital expenditures, in line with the first two quarters and the Business Plan targets Financial highlights Revenues at 8,187.4 million euro (-25.3%) Ebitda at 1,037.6 million euro (+3.1%) Net profit for Shareholders at 282.9 million euro (+20.1%) Gross operating capex at 561.1 million euro (+9.2%) Net financial debt at 4.175,0 million euro and Net debt/Ebitda ratio at 2.74x Business highlights Growth in operating results sustained by increased volumes in energy sales and volumes treated in the waste management area, which confirmed its resilience within a less expansive macroeconomic context Positive contribution to operating growth also coming from all regulated activities, following the Authority’s revisions of tariff systems and ongoing cost-efficiency projects Continuous growth in the customer base: over 7.5 million citizens with at least one service provided by the Group Innovative initiatives maintained to accompany the ecological transition in the local areas served and strengthen the resilience of assets, in line with the strategy to achieve Net Zero by 2050 Today, the Hera Group’s Board of Directors, chaired by Executive Chairman Cristian Fabbri, unanimously approved the consolidated quarterly report at 30 September 2024. The first nine months of 2024 showed a decrease in turnover, caused by lower energy prices, and a confirmation of growth in operating results and capex, even compared to the significant growth achieved in 2023, sustained by non-recurring components as well. More specifically, the 9.2% increase in operating capex demonstrates the Group’s ongoing focus on developing, enhancing and strengthening the resilience of the assets under management, whose reliability was confirmed once again during the extreme weather and climate phenomena recently recorded in Emilia-Romagna region. Moreover, Hera’s commitment to projects capable of accelerating the path towards the green transition of the communities served remained constant, fully in line with its five-year Business Plan to 2027. Excellent results were achieved in business operations, with growth in both free market and regulated activities, which sustained the increase in Ebitda and operating income and ensured solid value creation for all stakeholders. Cristian Fabbri, Executive Chairman of Hera Group: “Fully in line with the first half of 2024, the results for the nine months of the year point towards significant growth in all main indicators of our income statement and steady progress in the value created for all stakeholders. In particular, the rise in net profit attributable to Shareholders, which increased by more than 20%, and the increase in return on invested capital, now at 9.5%, confirm that we are fully implementing our Business Plan. The positive financial results were accompanied by an ongoing focus on sustainable growth in the areas in which we operate, and this commitment was confirmed by shared-value Ebitda, which came to roughly 54% of overall Ebitda. These results leverage the Group’s ability to grow in both its free market and regulated activities, continuing along the path of ‘structural’ sustainable development in favour of the communities served. With the beginning of the Gradual Protection Service “STG” provided to customers, and our continuous commercial development, we now supply at least one service to over 7.5 million citizens.” Orazio Iacono, CEO of the Hera Group: "The report as at 30 September shows an increase coming to over 20% in net profit attributable to Shareholders, which rose to approximately 283 million euro. The Group achieved particularly solid growth, with an important contribution coming from regulated businesses, which benefited from changes in the regulatory framework, and from the waste management business, which showed a continuously increasing Ebitda, especially in the free market, consolidating its leadership in this sector despite a complex macroeconomic context. The operational performance, already positive, was accompanied by a significant contribution from financial management, which are progressively benefitting in 2024 from the liability management and debt rationalisation initiated in the second half of 2023. Moreover, partially thanks to the contribution coming from the EIB financing line, the Group continued to accelerate along its path of green transition, decarbonisation, circular economy and protection of water resources in the territories served. Gross operating investments were up by approximately 10%, and have been rising for many years precisely to work towards a major infrastructure development, with the aim of improving the quality of services and the resilience of all assets. The net debt to Ebitda ratio, which remained steadily at around 2.74x, provides the Group with significant financial solidity and flexibility, allowing it to successfully grasp opportunities for external growth, in line with the targets of the Business Plan". Revenues at over 8 billion euro At 30 September 2024, revenues amounted to 8,187.4 million euro, down from 10,955.0 million euro in the same period of 2023 (-25.3%), mainly due to the drop in energy commodity prices and a reduction in incentivised activities on energy-saving services. The decrease in turnover due to lower volumes of gas was more than offset by the higher volumes of electricity sold, thanks to significant commercial development, and by higher tariff revenues in network services for regulated businesses, based on the Authority’s new return benchmarks. Ebitda rises to 1,037.6 million euro Ebitda for the first nine months of 2024 increased to 1,037.6 million euro (+3.1%), as against 1,006.8 million euro at 30 September 2023. This growth was entirely organic and structural, driven by the water cycle and the good performances of the waste management and electricity areas, which allowed the Group to fully offset the loss of margins linked to the super-ecobonus, included in the gas area, and confirming once again the solidity of its multi-business portfolio. Ebit increases to 522.5 million euro Ebit for the first nine months of 2024 rose to 522.5 million euro, up 3.5% from 504.6 million euro in the same period of 2023. This increase was supported by a normalisation of provisions, due to a standardisation in the prices of commodities in energy markets; this partly offset the increase in amortisation related to the trend in investments over the last few years, mainly linked to the development of plants in the waste management sector and in water and energy distribution networks. Financial operations: excellent results in the first 9 months Financial operations for the first nine months of 2024 amounted to 89 million euro, improving by 50.7 million compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly due to the rationalisation of the financial structure. Net profit pertaining to Shareholders up by over 20% At 30 September 2024, net profit amounted to 312.1 million euro (+16.8%), compared to 267.1 million in the same period of 2023, with a tax rate coming to 28%, up slightly mainly due to lower tax benefits. Net profit attributable to Shareholders rose to 282.9 million euro, up 20.1% compared to the 235.5 million euro seen at 30 September 2023. Strong growth in operating investments and the Group’s financial solidity confirmed In the first nine months of 2024, operating investments, including capital grants, amounted to 561.1 million euro, up 47.1 million euro compared to the previous year (+9.2%) and mainly related to development work on plants, networks and infrastructures, as well as regulatory upgrading, particularly in energy and water networks. The Group’s financial solidity was fully confirmed, with a net debt/Ebitda ratio of 2.74x. This figure remained constant throughout the year, leaving ample financial flexibility for potential new opportunities in the future. The total amount of net financial debt in the first nine months of 2024 came to 4,175 million euro, in line with the 4,148.9 million euro seen at 30 September 2023. Financial returns improved both on invested capital, which stood at almost 8 billion euro, and on equity: ROI rose to 9.5% (from 9% at 30 September 2023) and ROE to 11.7% (from 10.6% in the first nine months of the previous year). For further information Press release Visit Investors web area primo_piano_risultati9M_eng.png img_9M2024_110x150.jpg