2013 was a difficult year for Eni, but now the company is stronger. This was said by the outgoing CEO of the Italian energy giant Paolo Scaroni, opening the shareholders' meeting, his last as CEO after nine years: "In 2013 Eni faced a difficult year in all business sectors", and especially in Upstram, due to the many geopolitical tensions. Furthermore, underlined Scaroni, “Saipem has recorded a sharp drop in profitability”.
Despite such a difficult environment, however, "Eni achieved solid operating and financial results in 2013 by leveraging the strength of the portfolio and the turnaround processes underway in the mid-downstream businesses". Furthermore, in the medium-term future, the company will obtain benefits of around two billion a year between 2014 and 2016 from the renegotiation of 85% of the "take or pay" contracts.
According to Eni's outgoing CEO, "At the end of the three-year period, we deliver to our shareholders a company increasingly focused on the upstream, with excellent prospects for profitability and cash generation thanks to a portfolio of projects and reserves such as to allow even early monetization options and with a clear restructuring strategy for the mid and downstream businesses”. Clear improvements also from the financial point of view: "the company - Scaroni underlined - has halved net debt compared to three years ago".
By mid-morning, Eni's stock advanced on the Stock Exchange, gaining over 1%, on a very positive day so far for the Italian stock market.
