ERG S p A : The Board of Directors approves the c...

Installed power has surpassed3,000 MW, EBITDA at over 500 million Euro
andsustainability commitment rewarded with an MSCI ESG 'AA' Rating.
Proposed dividend per share of Euro 0.75.

FY 2019

Consolidated adjusted¹ EBITDA: €504 million, €491 million in 2018
Adjusted Group net result: €104 million, €107 million in 2018

Fourth quarter of 2019

Consolidated adjusted EBITDA:€124 million,€109 million in 4Q 2018
Adjusted Group net result:€29 million,€15 million in 4Q 2018

Genoa, 11 March 2020 - The Board of Directors of ERG S.p.A., which met yesterday, approved the consolidated financial statements, the draft financial statements as at 31 December 2019, the report on corporate governance and ownership, the consolidated non-financial statement and the report on remuneration policy and compensation paid.

Consolidated adjusted financial results

4th Quarter			Performance highlights (million Euro)	Year
2019	2018	Var. %		2019	2018	Var. %
124	109	13%	EBITDA	504	491	3%
48	38	26%	EBIT	205	216	-5%
29	15	96%	Group net result	104	107	-3%

	31.12.19	31.12.18	Variation
Net financial debt (million Euro)	1,476	1,343	+133
Leverage2	45%	42%

Luca Bettonte, ERG's Chief Executive Officer, commented: 'EBITDA, at over 504 million Euro, shows an upturn compared to 491 million Euro in 2018 and is at the top end of our mid-year guidance. This excellent result was achieved despite a much poorer performance by the hydroelectric power sector, due to the particularly dry year, and the weak trend in energy prices both in Italy and abroad. The good wind conditions in our countries of operation, the important result achieved in the thermoelectric power sector reflecting the trend in the price of gas, but above all the full contribution from the additional 198 MW of operating capacity developed are the factors that have enabled us to continue growing and to exceed 500 million Euro in EBITDA.

During 2019 we also completed the authorisation processes outside of Italy, allowing us in 2020 to launch new construction sites for around 285 MW divided between the United Kingdom, France and Poland, while in Italy we are proceeding with the permitting process for our portfolio of Repowering projects, as envisaged in the Business Plan. Generally speaking, we confirm our objective to achieve, by 2022, an increase of around 850 MW in installed capacity with respect to 2017, of which 350MW have already been implemented.

For 2020 we forecast EBITDA between 500 and 520 million Euro, with an upturn compared to a year ago, and a downward trend in net debt to between 1,360 and 1,440 million Euro, including investments amounting to between 185 and 215 million Euro, almost entirely destined for construction of the greenfield projects pertaining to our pipelines in Great Britain, Poland and France.

Lastly, we are pleased to report that this year we obtained additional major recognitions in the ESG sphere, constantly at the centre of our strategies, including the 'AA' rating assigned by MSCI.'

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¹ In order to facilitate the understanding of business performance, the financial results are shown excluding significant income components of a non-recurring nature (special items): these results are indicated using the term 'adjusted'. For a definition of the indicators and reconciliation of the amounts in question, reference is made to the specific section of this Press Release 'Alternative Performance Indicators'
² The ratio of total net financial debt (including project financing) to net invested capital