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Financial Results 1H 2020
Stories
Innovation in traditional multi-utilities. Only those who were “plan-ahead” companies in the past can move fast now.
In the age of great changes with global impact, technological progress is one of the most disruptive. It challenges business models, while requiring deep rethinking even of the more traditional activities in the industry. Widespread use of new technologies is revolutionizing the way multi-utilities operate. It is deeply transforming services offered to customers and their own expectations.
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Financial Results 1H 2020
Hera on stock exchange
An investment case perfectly fitting in the new market environment
Uncertainty and volatility are the key words that have dominated the equity markets in these times of Covid-19 pandemic. Long term sustainability and “green” agenda are the key words that have shaped the new monetary and fiscal policies in Europe.
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Financial Results 1H 2020
Looking at the figures
Focus on half-year 2020 results
In the first half of 2020, amid the pandemic-induced emergency, Hera has fulfilled its commitments toward stakeholders: it has guaranteed continuity of customer service while safeguarding the health of its employees; it has remunerated its shareholders with the 10 euro cent dividend envisaged in the Business Plan; it has made its presence felt the areas in which it operates with material aid to healthcare facilities.
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Financial Results 1H 2020
Message from the executive chairman of the board
No deviation from the profitable growth path designed in the Business Plan
In the first half of 2020 Hera continues to growth organically, leveraging on a deep-rooted “culture of efficiency”, and promptly captures the synergies from recent acquisitions, which are proving to be absolutely strategic. This way, in the first six months of the year we have already absorbed by a comfortable margin the amount of 30 million euro that represent the total Covid-19 impact on the P&L, as shown by the EBITDA growth of 2.5%.
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Financial Results 1Q 2020
Stories
In a time of social distancing, Hera is ever closer to customers
The strict lockdown adopted in Italy led to a number of changes in marketing and customer-service activities. On the other hand, consumption has also changed. Hera has put into play the proven experience of Hera Comm to deal with the new situation in such a way as to ensure together the safety of people and the continuity of service.
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Financial Results 1Q 2020
Hera on stock exchange
Scope for rerating with a clearer scenario
Hera’s price remains well below its fair value, despite showing the features of a defensive stock, because of the uncertainties concerning the way Italy will exit the deepest phase of the crisis originated by the pandemic.
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Financial Results 1Q 2020
Looking at the figures
Focus on first-quarter 2020 results
The performance in the first quarter of 2020 shows that Hera continues on the development growth path that has built over the years, by leveraging organic growth and the expansion achieved in its perimeter. This reflects a resilient business model and the M&A deals carried out in the past fiscal year.
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Financial Results 1Q 2020
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Effort in organic growth is rewarding Hera. M&A contribution proves essential
Areassuring picture has emerged from first-quarter 2020 results, despite a tough scenario. Shareholders remuneration has been confirmed, with 10 euro cents to be paid on 8 July 2020.
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Financial Results Y2019
Stories
New Sensitivity Game now available
Hera’s Investor Relations team has just completed the new version of the “Sensitivity Game”. Presented with the name of an intriguing game, it is actually a high-potential tool for analysts and investors that aim to test the impacts of different scenario assumptions on Hera’s future performance.
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Financial Results Y2019
Hera on stock exchange
A compelling equity story and an intense Investor Relations program behind the strength of Hera’s shares
Over the period from 2018 year-end to 19 February 2020, Hera’s share price surged (+67%), overperforming both the industry index – which grew by 61% – and, to an even greater extent, the Italian Blue Chips index, which in the same period increased by 39%.
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Financial Results Y2019
Looking at the figures
Focus on FY19 results
The performance of FY19 confirms that Hera’s growth path leverages on a well-balanced mix of portfolio activities, which the Company manages with both a forward-looking approach and actively monitoring market opportunities.
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Financial Results Y2019
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Year 2019 – considerable growth, also in quality
The “essential” nature of our business, the low correlation with Italian GDP, together with a structured risk management system, represent a solid certainty in a context whose evolution appears still uncertain.
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Business Plan 2019-2023
Message from the executive chairman of the board
In the new Plan, the growth profile is more visible and dynamic, with lower risks and more sustainability
Within the frame of a scenario that looks challenging but provides plenty of opportunities, Hera sets its 2023 targets, leveraging on the Group strength that the healthy 2019 forecast results once again confirm. All indicators are on the rise compared to the previous Plan, with five-year cumulated dividends increasing by 20%.
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Business Plan 2019-2023
Stories
Looking beyond the Plan, to become increasingly sustainable
Over the years, we progressively enriched and refined the setting of our accounting and planning activities. At the basis of our five-year planning process, there has always been the collection of business Key Performance Indicators underlying the Group’s economic objectives – an activity made at Business Unit level for every single fiscal year covered by the Plan.
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Business Plan 2019-2023
Hera on stock exchange
With the new Plan, Hera strengthens its equity story and broadens the spectrum of target investors
The strong rally of Hera shares took place against a benign backdrop for equity investments, especially favouring the utility sector. The long-lasting scenario of low interest rates has played a key role in paving the way for multiples re-ratings, while geo-political uncertainties were mainly fuelling short-term volatility.
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Business Plan 2019-2023
Looking at the figures
Focus on 2019-2023 plan
In the five-year Plan, clear strategic direction and efficient capital allocation are two factors at the heart of the expected acceleration in EBITDA growth, on a journey that will lead Hera to create even 539 m€ of Shared Value.
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Financial Results 3Q 2019
Stories
Hera’s approach to the circular smart city
One of the megatrends that feature the evolution of our society is the concentration of global population in the cities. Increasing urbanization requires deep rethinking of the services that the utilities provide.
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Financial Results 3Q 2019
Hera on stock exchange
Hera’s stock outperforms the benchmark indices
In a context of bullish stock markets, Hera can boast a number of Company-specific drivers. During 2019, Hera’s stock rose following a continuing upwards path. It over-performed both the FTSE MIB and the FTSE Italy All-share Utility Index, despite both indices had a significantly positive rally since the start of the year.
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Financial Results 3Q 2019
Looking at the figures
Focus on nine-month 2019 results
9M 2019 results speed up the growth of key indicators of the P&L. Hera is swiftly proceeding along the route designed in the Business Plan to 2022. Progress so far is of mostly organic nature. The benefits of the significant M&A deal with Ascopiave will be effective only beginning 2020, when the process can be completed following the Antitrust approval.
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Financial Results 3Q 2019
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Double-digit rise in net profit
Two factors characterise our nine-month 2019 results, i.e. net profit that grows in the double-digits and KPIs that accelerate quarter after quarter. Such features confirm that our efforts to put into play a set of proactive initiatives and their successful execution allowed Hera to counter factors that could have conditioned its growth rate, such as the expected margin decline in last-resort businesses.
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Financial Results 1H 2019
Stories
Sustainability at the heart of financing transactions
Recently, Hera has successfully placed a 500 million euro green bond with 8-year maturity, at the same time repurchasing 210.60 million euro of issued bonds with shorter maturity and higher coupons. An operation with a positive impact on the Company’s financial profile, confirming how strategic Hera approach to sustainability really is.
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Financial Results 1H 2019
Hera on stock exchange
Hera’s success is also reflected in the stock market, with a total return of 30% provided to shareholders
In this first part of the year, Hera’s share price rose sharply, peaking at 3.55 euro on 18 July 2019. The rally, which took place amid a bullish market outlook, also reveals some Company-specific drivers.
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Financial Results 1H 2019
Looking at the figures
Focus on the development of the sales partnership with Ascopiave
On 17 June 2019, the Boards of Directors of Hera and Ascopiave signed a binding Term Sheet intended to develop a major operator in energy sales in the areas of North-East Italy. This formal step took place at the end of a competitive process launched by Ascopiave with the aim of making the most of the sales segment of its business portfolio, by involving the major utilities in the Country.
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Financial Results 1H 2019
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Hera steps up the pace – Plan’s target to 2022 now closer
The results that depict Hera’s situation as of 30 June 2019 show that our growth continues, with no interruption, leveraging on a business model that reacts to challenges that may arise from the external environment, seizes new opportunities, and generates cash flow in linear way.
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Financial Results 1Q 2019
Stories
10 years of “Hera INSIEME”, or “Hera TOGETHER”
Ten years ago, in 2009, “Hera INSIEME” was born. It represented the community dedicated to the citizens served by the Group, who could enjoy several offers reserved for them, collect significant discounts in local stores and participate to exclusive events. A concrete initiative, aimed at maintaining social cohesion in the local community in a period of deep crisis.
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Financial Results 1Q 2019
Hera on stock exchange
Hera’s Shareholders Meeting reflects the continuous evolution of the Company and its shareholders
On 30 April 2019, Hera held the first Shareholders Meeting after the inclusion of its shares in the FTSE MIB index, on 18 March 2019. The level of participation and the quality of the speeches reveal the ongoing changes inside the Company and the expectations of its shareholders.
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Financial Results 1Q 2019
Looking at the figures
Focus on Q1 2019 results
Results achieved in Q1 2019 prove Hera continuing growth, while showing a performance on track with the Business Plan. Consolidated EBITDA grows by 2.5%, benefitting above all from the positive contribution of regulated businesses, where the tariff systems remunerates the efficiency and quality of Hera’s operational effort.
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Financial Results 1Q 2019
Message from the executive chairman of the board
A wide range of initiatives to execute the strategy
Following strong performance in 2018, also the first quarter of 2019 shows growing KPIs in the P&L, which leverage on the contribution of all main business areas. Moreover, since these results only partially reflect the activities already launched in 2018 and those coming from new projects, the visibility of the 200 mn€ EBITDA target indicated in the Business Plan to 2022 is even stronger.
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Financial Results Y2018
Looking at the figures
Focus on FY2018 results
Results achieved in 2018 prove, once again, the effectiveness of Group strategic choices over time. A well-balanced portfolio of regulated and liberalised activities, along with the choice to bring forward some circular economy and sustainability initiatives, provided for FY 2018 additional growth, additional financial strength and increased resiliency in various businesses.
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Financial Results Y2018
Stories
Hera is Top Employer in Italy for the tenth time
Last January, the Top Employers Institute awarded Hera with the tenth certification in a row as one of the best companies in Italy for application of best practices focused on the development and well-being of its people. An award of Certified Excellence in Employee Conditions.
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Financial Results Y2018
Hera on stock exchange
Hera enters the FTSE MIB index. A fresh chapter of our story on the stock exchange begins
On 18 March 2019, Hera shares have been included into the FTSE MIB, the index made up of the 40 blue chips of Borsa Italiana, the Italian Equity Market. With this entry, Hera achieves a goal that has long guided the efforts of the Company’s Investor Relations.
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Financial Results Y2018
Message from the executive chairman of the board
On the back of healthy 2018 results, Hera provides attractive remuneration o shareholders
In 2018 Hera achieved important results. The set of indicators presented in the Annual Report proves the achievement of increasingly higher levels of financial strength and profitability, even when compared to virtuous historical financials; a situation that indicates further capacity to grow.
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Business Plan 2018-2022
Stories
Hera’s business plan envisages growth that is increasingly moving towards a regen-erative approach, designed to maximize the creation of shared value
In 2016, we added the Shared Value Creation perspective to our approach to Corporate Social Responsibility. This allowed us to directly quantify and represent how the activities of the Group contribute to operating margins and, at the same time, meet the guidelines provided by the United Nations and included in drivers of the Global Agenda.
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Business Plan 2018-2022
Hera on stock exchange
New features of the Plan to 2022 strengthen Hera’s equity story
Despite the remarkable recovery achieved from 10 December 2018 onwards, Hera stock continues to trade at a discount compared to the consensus target price of broker coverage, presently at 3.28 euro. Most analyst ratings indicate buying suggestions, with only one neutral rating and no selling recommendation.
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Business Plan 2018-2022
Looking at the figures
Focus on the 2018-2022 Plan’s targets
In the new plan, which will lead Hera towards 2022, we have chosen to evolve our business in order to improve the quality and reliability of the services we offer, believing that our economic and commercial success will depend on how we address that challenge.
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Business Plan 2018-2022
Message from the executive chairman of the board
2018-2022 Business Plan underpinning Hera’s investment case
The new Business Plan for the 2018-2022 period starts with a convincing performance already in its first year; our forecast for 2018 EBITDA is 1,020 m€, a growth of 35 €m compared to 2017. Over the last two years, Hera has therefore achieved an EBITDA increase exceeding by 16 m€ that included in the rolling Plan to 2021. Actually, we fully delivered the target of cumulated growth of 210 m€ that we had announced in 2013 for the following five-year period.
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Financial Results 3Q 2018
Stories
Circular economy – Hera launches two projects that open up new frontiers
In recent weeks, Hera launched the PUNTO.net pilot project, in the Municipality of Castel Bolognese, with the aim of implementing the philosophy of the Circular & Smart City. Moreover, the Company inaugurated the first Biomethane plant, in Sant’Agata, a city in the outskirts of Bologna.
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Hera continue to strengthen its reputation in the eyes of investors
Hera on stock exchange
Hera continue to strengthen its reputation in the eyes of investors
Hera trades at a huge discount to the average target price of the brokers that cover the stock, which is 3.32 euro; a value that remained substantially unchanged compared to that of 28 July 2018, date of release of half-year results, when the consensus target price was 3.34 euro. The overwhelming majority of analysts rating consists of buying recommendations, with only one neutral rating and zero selling suggestion.
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Financial Results 3Q 2018
Looking at the figures
Focus on 9M 2018 results
Hera’s 9-month results show healthy operating performance, with an improvement in all the main businesses, as a result of actions taken over time to expand and consolidate presence in liberalised businesses and investments carried out to run regulated businesses efficiently.
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Financial Results 3Q 2018
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Nine-month results indicate increasingly strong fundamentals
Earnings as at 30 September 2018 show a stronger growth than that already achieved in the First-Half Report. Even though Q3 has a lower weight compared to other quarters on full-year earnings, due to the seasonality of the gas business, results released today clearly prove the effectiveness of Hera’s business model and its capability to execute the Business Plan.
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Financial Results 1H 2018
Stories
Hera bases its annual strategic review on a sound planning process
Hera has always reached – often outperforming them – its Business Plan targets. An accurate and structured planning process is the foundation of long-term credibility and sustainability in Hera strategy.
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Financial Results 1H 2018
Hera on stock exchange
Within an uncertain framework, Hera stock ensures a visible yield, leveraging on solid fundamentals
During 2018, Hera stock performance has shown high correlation with the dynamics of the sector index, reflecting an uncertain scenario, both for interest rates (due to easing policies of Central Banks coming to an end) and for GDP growth (due to the possible impacts of US protectionism).
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Financial Results 1H 2018
Looking at the figures
Focus on H1 2018 results
Three factors have mainly driven the increase of 212.7 mn€ in Group Revenues (+7.7% vs. H1 2017): i) increased Trading (57 mn€), ii) higher sales of gas and electricity (120 mn€) that reflect higher volumes sold, iii) system charges and volumes distributed growing by 52 mn€.
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Financial Results 1H 2018
Message from the executive chairman of the board
Earnings acceleration strengthens visibility of 2018 DPS
At the end-June halfway point Hera presents sound results both in terms of quality and size of growth achieved. In addition to a 3.5% EBITDA increase, the Company shows a 12.1% rise in net profit. A performance proving that Hera can translate healthy operating results in even higher increases at bottom line, through the contribution of declining financial expenses in the financial area and lower tax rate in the fiscal management field.
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Financial Results 1Q 2018
Stories
Hera’s water business among the worldwide excellence companies
During the 2018 Global Water Summit that took place in Paris on 18 April 2018, Hera was admitted within the 28 Leading Utilities of the World, a network that brings together the planet’s most innovative and successful companies in the water and wastewater sector. Within such framework, the utility companies share knowledge and projects, in addition to creating opportunities for collaboration.
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Financial Results 1Q 2018
Hera on stock exchange
In a less uncertain scenario for interest rates, Hera’s stock is again discounting good fundamentals
In early 2018, the uncertainty on the evolution of European interest rates affected the Hera’s stock as well as the entire utility sector. While the signs of a decelerating economic growth became increasingly evident and the concerns of high inflation dissolved, the sentiment in the equity markets improved.
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Financial Results 1Q 2018
Looking at the figures
Focus on Q1 2018 results
The 163.5 mn€ increase in Group Revenues (+10.4%) benefits from the net contribution of 23.5 mn€ from the perimeter changes, mainly due to the 80% holdings in in Aliplast (+26.3 mn€), Italian leader in plastics recycling, and to the exit of Medea (-3.7 mn€), which was sold to Italgas in December 2017.
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Financial Results 1Q 2018
Message from the executive chairman of the board
First-quarter growth makes the targets of the Plan to 2021 even more visible
The set of results achieved in Q1 2018 in itself is compelling, with EBITDA growth exceeding 5% and net profit following an even more dynamic trend, at a rate close to 10%, around double the rate of EBITDA. Strong cash flow generation allowed for further decrease in net debt, which at 31 March 2018 was 2.5x the EBITDA: a level providing us with significant flexibility for the future.
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Financial Results Y2017
Stories
The value of people, one of Hera’s key assets
At Hera, our mission is to enhance the value of our employees through well-defined procedures for participation and involvement. This approach has been fundamental in the past in supporting the Group’s creation, and today it is essential to the achievement of the efficiency required to a Company that aims to be competitive in all respects.
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Financial Results Y2017
Hera on stock exchange
Growth and cash generation: a winning combination for investors
The year of 2018 opened with the presentation of the new Business Plan, which projects the Company’s objectives through 2021. Since 10 January, we have been involved in a wide-ranging roadshow, which has taken us to 12 different financial centres in Europe and the United States, where we have met with institutional investors to present a comprehensive outline of Hera’s commitments and prospects for the coming years.
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Financial Results Y2017
Looking at the figures
Focus on FY2017 results
The FY2017 results reflect a consistent growth strategy over the years, with an execution that sticks to the Business Plan. Those results prove the effectiveness of our business model, which leveraged on efficiency, innovation, agility and excellence in achieving organic growth.
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Financial Results Y2017
Message from the executive chairman of the board
In 2017, Hera achieved a healthy set of results and provided shareholders with a return exceeding 36%
Based on the figures in the 2017 Annual Report, we can make a few general considerations about Hera’s growth trajectory over these 15 years of its history. Our operating performance is effectively represented by EBITDA, which has quintupled with respect to 2002, climbing to 985 million euro.
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Business Plan 2017-2021
Stories
Key strategic issues: The story told by the people working for Hera
Laura is a 34-year-old employee working in the team based in the Forlì remote control room. Her story facilitates a better understanding of the way in which Hera manages its businesses, leveraging on a range of intangible assets that have a key-role in guaranteeing future competitiveness and profitability to the Company.
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Business Plan 2017-2021
Hera on stock exchange
The Investor Relations Plan to 2021
In a listed company, creating value and failing to communicate it properly to the financial community means that you have not created it, because investors will not have all the elements available to evaluate the Company’s perspectives accurately and the share price will not reflect the fair value.
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Business Plan 2017-2021
Looking at the figures
Focus on the targets of the 2017-2021 Plan
The capital allocation that we have planned will generate an increase in the EBITDA of all business areas, with the Networks business absorbing most investments and being the largest contributor in terms of EBITDA (+129 million euro). In 2021, we expect to maintain a well-balanced breakdown between regulated and liberalised businesses.
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Business Plan 2017-2021
Message from the executive chairman of the board
In the 2017-2021 period, Hera aims to grow, leveraging on substantial changes in the operational and regulatory framework
The forecasts for 2017 – the first year in the new Plan – indicate that Hera starts from a virtuous position. An EBITDA estimate around 980 million euro, 63 million higher than the 2016 figure, confirms that in the last two fiscal years we have achieved a performance that was 18 million euro above the average annual growth planned, mostly leveraging on the organic component.