All in Milan. It starts with Enel which at 9:30 on Tuesday 20 November is presenting its new 2019-2020 business plan to the financial community. Then it will be the turn of Generali which on Wednesday 21st will present its industrial plan at the Investor Day which will take place in the splendid location of Citylife.
Enel has decided to present its plan in Milan and no longer in London as usual and this is already a novelty. A taste of what is boiling in the pot was had on Monday from Spain where Enel will launch Endesa X and a plan of 850.000 private and 8.500 public charging stations over 5 years, to accelerate the electric mobility. The mobility chapter is among the keywords of the meeting at Gallia in Milan but it is not the only one. The others on which the CEO Francesco Starace will tread the sign are digitization, organic growth and decarbonisation.
On this last point, Enel will provide further proof of its commitment to the sustainability strategy making the presentation day of the 2019-20 Strategic Plan a carbon neutral appointment, in collaboration with Mediatree, through the remote planting of 440 trees in Columbia and 300 pomegranate plants in Sicily.
The tree-operation serves to give an idea of the strategy which also combines social and environmental objectives and which CEO Starace illustrated at the opening of the Capital Market Day, but it is clear that investors and analysts summoned to Milan expected a menu from Enel rich. Here are the first numbers, while the Milanese presentation is underway: over the period of plan iThe group will invest 27,5 billion euros. The. are confirmed and relaunched commitments on networks, digitization and renewables (already reached 40% of the group's energy mix). Enel aims to make money from decarbonisation a 1 billion increase in Ebitda tbetween 2018 and 2021. In that year, the forecast is to reach 62% of energy generated from renewables. Digitization confirms an improvement in operating efficiency of 1,2 billion.
The improvement in Ebitda to 19,4 billion at the end of the period (+6%) and in profit (5,6 billion, +11%) drive the growth of the dividend, expected by analysts after the excellent results for the first nine months. The down payment of 14 cents which will be paid in January has already recorded an improvement of 33% but the forecast of the group is to reach a weighted growth of +9% over the next three years.
Finally, the question of the Telecom network and the project for one single Tim-Open Fiber network. The topic is not included in the Plan (Open Fiber is not consolidated in Enel's financial statements) which is presented in Milan. Moreover, it is an incandescent matter, still confused and constantly evolving. On the other hand, the push of the M5S-Lega government for an integration between the two groups and for the birth of a network company in which Cdp would act as guarantor of the public interest on the network, will certainly be at the center of the observers' requests . And Francesco Starace, who a year ago at the Ambrosetti Forum said "no to corporate gangs", could be called upon to clarify whether he confirms his opposition to a property in a condominium with Tim or not. Perhaps not by chance'CEO of Open Fiber Elisabetta Ripa he told Ansa on Monday that the company expects “to close the year with 4,8 million connected property units: 4 million in the market areas plus 800 units in the areas involved in the Infratel tenders. To achieve all this, we have awarded contracts for around 1 billion euros through 48 tenders”.
It should be remembered that in the first nine months of 2018 Enel achieved revenues of 55,25 billion euros, +2% compared to the same period of 2017. The net result rose by 15% to 3 billion. The group has forecast for the 2018 financial year a coupon equal to the higher of 0,28 euro per share and 70% of the group's net ordinary income. The stock is at the top of the Ftse Mib (4,657 euros, +2,08%) when the Ftse Mib loses 0,8% around 10:33.
GENERALI AND THE CHALLENGE OF GROWTH
Then it will be the turn of Generali, when in the Palazzo delle Scintille of Citylife – a name that is already a program – the CEO Philippe Donnet, who has made no secret of appreciating the reconfirmation at the helm of the Leone company next spring, will illustrate to a hundred analysts and investors from all over the world the new 2019-2021 strategic plan. A plan that promises to be marked by growth also thanks to a treasury of 2 billion euros that Generali has in hand with cost cutting and the disposal of non-strategic assets.
Growth yes but how? In a very recent interview, Donnet did not hide that the new plan will focus on growth both internally and "non-organically", ie through targeted acquisitions, as have been the case in recent times, especially in the field of asset management. And this is precisely the terrain on which, without neglecting the strictly insurance business, Donnet will aim to grow above all in Europe but also in the rest of the world and in particular in Asia, Russia and South America.
The bet of Donnet's new plan is to shorten the distances compared to the other big insurance companies and at the same time give satisfactory dividends to shareholders. So far the Stock Exchange has rewarded Generali which, under Donnet's leadership, has grown in 2 years by 22,3% against a performance of the Ftse Mib of 14,4% and against a rise in Zurich by the former Mario Greco of 15,4%, 3,6% and even a drop of Axa of 24,2% finishing behind only Allianz (+XNUMX%) which has not suffered the turbulence of the Italian market linked to political uncertainty.
But will the policy of small steps be enough or will it be necessary to think big? That's what the market wants to know and what Philippe Donnet will try to clarify tomorrow at Citylife
