Hera achieved significant half-yearly growth in terms of both size and quality.

A more favourable scenario than that of the first part of 2020, with regard to the effects of the pandemic and the climate, only partly explains the 10.4% progress in EBITDA: organic growth continued indeed, together with that driven by M&A. Comparison with pre-Covid levels of the first half of 2019 indicates even greater progress, in the order of 13.2%.

In liberalised areas, Hera has proven its ability in leveraging higher volumes as well as the incentives for energy efficiency included in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, achieving significant returns, also in terms of sustainability.

First-quarter results demonstrate Hera’s ability to post healthy growth rates in an improving scenario. The increase of 3.7% in EBITDA indicates that around 70% of the negative impacts related to Covid-19 and mild temperatures, which affected the first quarter of 2020, have been recovered. The Net Profit growth of 6.2% – therefore higher than that at EBITDA level – proves the positive contribution of both financial and fiscal management.

Strong cash flow generation allows for a 159-million-euro reduction in Net Financial Debt and makes Hera’s potential to fund additional growth through M&A even more visible.

Given the results achieved in these first months of the year, Hera’s competitiveness comes out even stronger. A key premise, also in view of the forthcoming tenders in regulated businesses.

Despite the pandemic scenario, 2020 proved to be a year of reassuring results in many regards. Behind the performance of financials, which exceeded forecasts, we boast a solid business model, a proven successful growth strategy, as well as a thorough execution of stakeholder-supporting policies that can be shaped by the needs of the moment.

Such an evidence provides higher visibility to the 2024 targets of the Business Plan and encourages the distribution of a dividend of 11 euro cents, meaning 0.5 cent higher than the amount originally indicated.

The Business Plan to 2024 fully intercepts the opportunities of the new economic policies, which promote energy transition and technological development. The new Plan declines these opportunities in a way that is consistent to the specific business model of the Group, with the aim of designing the next steps of a growth path that has continued uninterruptedly since 2002.

Strong of a 2020 that testifies the ability to grow resiliently even in challenging contexts, Hera is ready to confront the priorities of the external scenario. Counting on a true vocation for sustainability and on a solid financial capacity, in the new scenario the Company does not see discontinuity, but attractive opportunities.

Despite the current scenario deeply differs from that assumed in the Business Plan to 2023, Hera continues to follow the strategic design.

While investments and new business initiatives continue, a careful approach to gain efficiency at organic level and extract value in the integration process of acquired companies allows Hera to post a 2.6% growth at EBITDA level.

Strong cash generation succeeds in covering investments and dividend payment, while the Debt-to-EBITDA ratio continues to improve, declining to 2.97x at the end of September 2020.

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%.
In the next months, with the progressive easing of restrictions that were needed in Italy to contain the virus outbreak, we will be in a position to resume both investment and marketing activities. Hera will then be able to demonstrate the full potential for profitable growth embedded in a business portfolio that has always been managed in this forward-thinking perspective.

A reassuring picture has emerged from first-quarter 2020 results, despite a tough scenario.

The results have been achieved in a context characterised by exceptionally mild winter temperatures and the restrictions imposed to control the Covid-19 outbreak; restrictions that did not prevent Hera from continuing to provide its services.

Shareholders remuneration has been confirmed, with 10 euro cents to be paid on 8 July 2020..

In the traditional Message to Shareholders, Hera’s Chairman confirms that the Company is ensuring continuity of the essential services provided to customers. He also comments on 2019 results that show significant growth, achieved keeping a limited risk profile.
Shareholders remuneration follows the Business Plan indications, with a proposed dividend per share of 10 euro cents.

Dear Shareholders,
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.