On Monday, March 12th, 2017 Paolo Gallo, CEO and Antonio Paccioretti, General Manager presented 2017 Full Year Results.
Author: adigiuseppe
Italgas: completed the acquisition of Ichnusa Gas S.p.A.
With the completion of the transaction 52 new concessions have been acquired, in line with the growth strategy announced in the 2017-2023 Strategic Plan
Milan, 28 February 2018 – Italgas has completed today the acquisition, from CPL Concordia and Impresa Costruzioni Ing. Raffaello Pellegrini Srl, of 100% of Ichnusa Gas S.p.A. owner through its subsidiaries of 12 concessions for the construction and operation of gas distribution networks in 81 Municipalities of Sardinia.
With the completion of the transaction, Italgas increases of 52 new concessions its portfolio, in line with the growth strategy announced to the market with the Strategic Plan 2017-2023, which, pending the execution of the gas concession tenders, envisages the Group’s development also through the acquisition of small and medium-sized operators.
The overall value of Ichnusa Gas (Enterprise Value) has been set at about Euro 26 million.
Of the 12 concessions in the company’s portfolio, 2 are in operation with the first customers temporarily served with LPG; the remaining 10 refer to networks under construction and to be built, for a total investment of over 170 million euros, partly financed with regional subsidies. These infrastructures will be completed in about three years, and will have a total extension of about 1,300 kilometres to service an area of more than 150,000 potential customers.
With the completion of the transaction – which is in line with the growth strategy set out in the 2017-2023 Business Plan – Italgas becomes the operator of about a third of the 38 pools of users defined by regional subdivisions, immediately assuming a relevant role in the natural gas development project of Sardinia, the only Italian region that does not benefit from an interconnected gas distribution infrastructure.
Italgas is a new partner of MIP Politecnico di Milano
Milan, 26 February 2018 – Italgas, leader in Italy and third in Europe in the gas distribution sector, becames part of the share capital of the MIP Politecnico di Milano Graduate School of Business.
Italgas’ choice, which brings to 21 the national and multinational companies and institutions that make up the organisation’s corporate structure, is in line with the Company’s new approach, which has identified technological innovation and digitalization of the network as objectives to promote the adoption of new technologies in a predictive way for the benefit of the entire Italian gas distribution system.
The direct collaboration with the MIP and the network of associated companies will allow Italgas to promote and develop specific initiatives in the areas of management, digital transformation and continuous improvement, with a business-oriented approach; at the same time Italgas will provide the network of associated companies the know-how and the specific expertise acquired in 180 years of experience.
“The partnership with the Politecnico di Milano, which has always represented an excellence in the research, innovation and training sectors – commented Paolo Gallo, Italgas CEO – will help to promote the acquisition of know-how and new skills in the fields of management and digital technologies that our people need to carry out the challenging investment plan and pursue the growth and development targets that we have set for the Group’s growth and for the entire Italian gas distribution system”.
In the words of Andrea Sianesi, MIP Dean: “One of the long-standing building blocks in our strategy at our Business School is our closeness to companies and business and our desire to be an integral part of this world. Italgas, the leading operator in Italy in the field of natural gas urban distribution, has now joined our corporate structure, confirming the quality of our education and the special projects that we have developed, especially in the strategic area of energy management”.
Founded in 1979 as a Consortium between the Politecnico di Milano and many Italian institutions and several leading public and private industrial groups, today MIP is a non-for-profit consortium limited company: Assolombarda Confindustria Milano Monza e Brianza, BIP Business Integration Partners, Bticino, Danieli & C. Officine Meccaniche, Edison, ENI Corporate University, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles-Magneti Marelli, Fondazione Italcementi Cav. Lav. Carlo Pesenti, IBM Italia, Italgas, Italtel, Luxottica, Microsoft Italia, OTB, Pirelli & C, Politecnico di Milano, SIA, Snam, Telecom Italia, Vodafone, Whirlpool.
MIP and the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering together make up the School of Management of Politecnico di Milano, which is involved in all the many aspects surrounding research and education in the fields of management, economics and industrial engineering. In 2007, the School of Management was initially accredited by EQUIS.
Since first joining the Financial Times’ rankings of best European Business Schools in 2009, the School of Management received today is in the list with: Executive MBA, Full-Time MBA, Master of Science in Management Engineering, Customised Executive Programs for business, Open Executive Programs for managers and professionals.
Italgas is the leader operator in Italy in the natural gas distribution sector and the third largest player in Europe. With its 4,000 people, it operates a network that extends over 65,000 kilometres and serves 7.4 million users. The current market share is close to 34%. With its 180 years history, Italgas is unanimously recognized as the company that has brought gas to Italian homes, developing an excellent infrastructure and a fundamental service, contributing to the economic and social development of the country and promoting its sustainable growth. Today Italgas is a company that looks to the future, with clear growth and clear development objectives: an important investment plan for the progressive extension of the service and the adoption of digital technologies that will make network management increasingly efficient.
Italgas shares are listed in the FTSE MIB index of the Italian Stock Exchange. The floating share capital is around 60.0%. At June 30, 2017 shares held by Investment Funds following SRI (Social Responsibility Investment) criteria in their decisions represent around 6% of Italgas shareholders and around 12% of Italgas institutional investors. The main shareholder of Italgas, with 26,05% of the share capital, is Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
Italgas: completed the acquisitions from Amalfitana Gas and AEnergia Reti
Milan, 31 January 2018 – Italgas has completed the acquisitions of the Amalfitana Gas and AEnergia Reti company branches concerning, respectively, the natural gas distribution activities in three ATEMs in Campania and Basilicata, two regions in Southern Italy, and the distribution network of the Municipality of Portopalo di Capopassero (Syracuse).
Amalfitana Gas – The assets acquired include 12 gas concessions in as many municipalities, about 330 kilometres of network in operation and supplies over 22,000 customers. In particular, the municipalities that now are managed by Italgas are Somma Vesuviana, Viggiano, Baronissi, Calvanico, Pellezzano, Fisciano, Siano, Oliveto Citra, Contursi Terme, Montesano sulla Marcellana, Monte San Giacomo, Athena Lucana.
The deal value, equal to about €21 million, paid entirely in cash, includes the value of the going concern of 18.5 million and additional works carried out by Amalfitana Gas of about 2.5 million executed at closing date.
AEnergia Reti – In Portopalo di Capopassero the network extends for about 35 kilometres and reaches a pool of about 1,400 potential users. The deal value amounted to 2.2 million euro, also paid in cash.
Both transactions are in line with the growth strategy set out in the 2017-2023 Business Plan, allowing Italgas to furtherly strengthen its role in Southern Italy, where the historic presence of the company will enhance significant synergies with the assets currently managed and, by implementing important investments in the territory concerned, it will give a renewed stimulus to the process of natural gas distribution to areas that are not yet reached by the service.
Italgas: 2018 financial calendar
Milan, 25 January 2018 – Italgas announces the financial calendar and the dates of the publication of its 2018 financial results as approved by the Board of Directors:
* Press release and conference call for the presentation of results to the financial community at the end of the Board of Directors’ meeting.
** Press release will be issued at the end of Shareholders’ meeting.
*** Press release will be issued in the morning (non trading hours); the conference call/Strategy presentation for the presentation of results to the financial community will be held in the afternoon on the same day.
The dividend for the 2017 financial year will be paid on 23 May 2018 (record date 22 May 2018) with coupon payment date 21 May 2018.
A road show to present the company’s objectives as established in the 2018-2024 Strategic Plan to institutional investors and financial analysts is scheduled to start in June 2018.
Any amendment to the above calendar will be notified to the market in due time.
Italgas successfully reopens the bond issue maturing in January 2029 for a further 250 million euros
Milan, 23 January 2018 – Today Italgas Spa (BBB+ rating for Fitch, Baa1 for Moody’ s) has successfully reopened the bond issued on September 18, 2017 (500 million euros, maturing on January 18,2029 and a coupon of 1.625%) for a further amount of 250 million euros.
The positive performance of the original issue on the secondary market allowed Italgas to have the reopening better priced in comparison to the original issue, with a spread of 58 bps on the mid-swap rate rather than the original 72 bps. At the moment of the issue, the secondary market levels of the bond reopened were higher than the spread of 58 bps obtained with today’s operation.
The transaction was approximately 7 times oversubscribed compared to the amount offered at the beginning and that allowed the Company to increase the size of the issue from 100 to 250 million euros with a high quality and wide geographical diversification of investors.
Today’s issue brings the amount of fixed-rate debt to over € 3.2 billion euros, also thanks to the hedging transactions from floating-to-fix carried out in the first part of January.
Italgas realized a further step in the optimization process of its debt structure, increasing maturity and fix/floating ratio.
The bond will be listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange.
BNP Paribas and Société Générale were Joint Bookrunners of the placement, which was reserved for institutional investors.
Details are as follows:
- Amount: 250 million euro
- Maturity: 18 January 2029
- Annual coupon of 1.625%. The re-offer price is 99,94 (equivalent to a spread of 58 basis points over the reference mid-swap rate)
- EMTN Program has been approved by Italgas’s Board of Directors on 23 October 2017.
Italgas acquires the concession and the natural gas distribution network of Portopalo (Syracuse)
Milan, 21 December 2017 – Italgas has signed a binding agreement with AEnergia Reti for the acquisition, for a total amount of 2.2 million euros, of a company branch regarding the concession and the natural gas distribution network of the Municipality of Portopalo di Capo Passero (Syracuse).
The network, which is completed but not yet in operation, extends for about 35 kilometres and serves a pool of about 1,400 potential users.
Italgas and Hera sign a binding agreement for the transferral to Italgas of 100% of Medea S.p.A.
Bologna, 21 December 2017 – 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.
Paolo Gallo, CEO of Italgas, has commented as follows:
“The agreement reached today is in line with the objectives set out in our Strategic Plan and, alongside the recent operation involving Ichnusa Gas, further strengthens the presence of Italgas in Sardinia. We have already planned 200 million euros of investments for the next few years, with the aim of providing the island with modern gas distribution networks in view of the more concrete prospect of the construction of the infrastructures that will bring natural gas to the Region”.
Stefano Venier, CEO of the Hera Group, has stated:
“This transaction is part of a broader process of rationalising the Hera Group’s investments and concentrating on its reference territories. Our thanks go to the Sassari customers and administration for their fruitful collaboration during these years. In any case, we are pleased to sell Medea to a fully reliable counterpart with strategic interests in the Region”.
Italgas: EIB grants a new loan for a total of EUR 360 million to strengthen the network
Milan, 19 December 2017 – Italgas has signed today a loan agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) for a total amount of € 360 million for the financing of some initiatives aimed at strengthening its distribution network and making the gas distribution system even more efficient and secure.
The Project, named «Network Upgrade», consists in the extension and expansion of the gas distribution network, the installation of smart meters and the modernization and replacement of existing assets in order to improve the safety and operational efficiency of the network.
The 360 million Euro loan will be at floating rate and will run for 20 years, of which 5 years will be pre-amortisation, at market conditions particularly. Disbursement is expected by the end of December, as well as the repayment of a previous EIB loan of EUR 300 million.
The closing of this loan is part of Italgas’ strategy to optimise its financial structure, both in terms of reducition of the cost of funding and extension of the average duration of EIB loans, totalling 784 million euro, making the Group one of the largest Italian counterparties of the Bank, supporting the significant investment plan envisaged in the Company’s Strategic Plan.
Italgas focuses on sustainable mobility and renews the entire company fleet with methane cars by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Turin, 18 December 2017 – Today, with the delivery in Turin of the first cars, the company’s entire Italgas fleet is being renovated with methane powered vehicles by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. In the next few days similar deliveries will be made in Rome and Naples, two of the main cities where the Italgas Group operates.
For Italgas – the most important operator in Italy in the natural gas distribution and the third largest in Europe – this is an important step along a virtuous path that will lead to a considerable reduction in harmful emissions into the atmosphere, contributing to making the air in the cities where it operates more breathable.
The delivery of the cars took place at the historic Italgas area of Corso Regina Margherita in Turin. On the occasion, Alfredo Altavilla (Chief Operating Officer for the EMEA area of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles) and Giacomo Carelli (CEO of FCA Bank and Leasys) have symbolically handed over the keys to Paolo Gallo (CEO di Italgas) and Paolo Bacchetta (CEO of Italgas Reti).
The conversion of the company’s fleet into methane gas – the first in Italy to be completely methane – is one of the initiatives launched under the Italgas 2017-2023 Industrial Plan, which also included the construction of over 120 self-consumption gas filling stations within the 40 suitable technical areas.
Currently, the Italgas Group’s fleet is composed by 2,500 vehicles and over the next 12 months will be replaced with the latest “natural power” models of FCA: Panda, Panda Van, Fiorino, 500L, Doblò, Qubo and Ducato, all of them naturally fuelled by methane, in line with Italgas’ demands that considers the key of its development to be sustainable and efficient.
Today, methane for transportation is an intelligent and environmentally sustainable choice. It is an ecological, safe, practical and economical fuel. Its use reduces by up to 43% (mixed with biomethane, in the well to wheel optics) CO2 emissions and by 94-95% those of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and PM particulates.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ commitment to natural gas dates back to the nineties of the last century: an Italian technology, which FCA has created and grown, among the first manufacturers to believe and invest in the development of this type of power supply. Today it is among the leaders in the European market, with about 45 percent share, more than 740 thousand cars and commercial vehicles sold since 1997 and Panda, the most popular methane car ever, with more than 300 thousand vehicles sold.
Leasys confirms its role as a leader in the management of corporate fleets and in the rental sector during this partnership with Italgas. In fact, the FCA Bank company responds to the needs of every type of customer (with different characteristics and needs) with flexible and innovative solutions and offers. For example, formulas that reward the shift from ownership to use of the vehicle and that allow for positive spill-over effects in terms of congestion, improvement of the environment and reduction of vehicle costs.