A2A closes the 2011 financial year with a loss of 420 million but will still distribute a dividend of 0,013 cents per share. A2011A's 2 dividend is "limited, but we wanted to give a signal to all our shareholders", said the chairman of the management board Giuseppe Sala at the end of a board meeting defined as "long but serene", where all the directors present voted for balance sheet and coupon. The stock, after a rise above 1,8%, turns negative and drops by 0,99%.
The 2011 loss depends on net write-downs mainly due to the Edison restructuring for 627 million euros against net profits of 168 million and capital gains of 39 million from the sale of a stake held in Metroweb and other minor investments. Revenues grew by 2,6% to 6.198 million euros while the operating margin decreased by 9,4% to 942 million, due to the performance of the subsidiary Epcg. The net operating result amounted to 301 million in 2011 from 498 million, down by 39,6%. Net financial debt in 2011 rose to 4.021 million euros compared to 3.893 million at the end of 2010. The focus in the coming years, said general manager Renato Ravanelli, will be debt reduction. In 2012, according to the forecasts of the manager, A2A will return to profit, with an Ebitda on the rise and a dividend commensurate with its performance.
“The Board of Management has expressed itself in the utmost freedom: we have acknowledged the good performance of the industrial result and the contribution of extraordinary operations. We acted in good conscience as directors of the company”, underlined Ravanelli, suggesting that the board has not been subjected to political pressure from the two common shareholders, Milan and Brescia.
On the face of Edf's takeover bid for Edison, on which the Consob verdict on the price is awaited, Ravanelli then said a lot confident "that the transaction can be closed well because it is interesting and brings benefits to both A2A and Edison shareholders". And he added: “We know that Consob has made a request for additional information, but I would like to clarify that there is no plan B also because, he concluded, a price review, set by Edf at 0,84 euro per share, would same as the sale of 30% of Italian Edison to the French, would be unreasonable”.
