The State Railways the Frecce and Intercity divisions will be listed on the Stock Exchange by 2017, while the network will remain public. This was announced by the group's CEO, Renato Mazzoncini, presenting the new 2016-2026 industrial plan at the Tiburtina station in Rome on Wednesday, which envisages investments of 94 billion euros and a doubling of revenues, aiming for 70% growth outside the current business perimeter.
“The hypothesis we are discussing is one quotation not lower than 30%”, explained the manager, specifying that FS chose to land at Piazza Affari with high speed and long distances because “their appeal is evident”: the new division has a turnover of 2,4 billion, which should arrive in 10 years at 3 billion, an Ebitda of 700 million which at the end of the plan should reach one billion and an Ebitda margin of 33%.
The president of the group, Gioia Ghezzi, then specified that the times for the arrival on the Stock Exchange "will be the technical ones: one year from today, within 2017 the quotation will be reached". The goal, added Mazzoncini, is to open the capital to retail investors and possibly to funds, "but not to other industrial groups". Moreover, according to the ad also the cargo division “it could easily go public if it reaches a level of profitability up to par”, but it will take at least five years for this to happen.
As for the floor numbers, gods 94 billion of planned investments, 73 will be for new infrastructure, 14 for rolling stock and 7 for technological development. More than half of the resources are already available: 58 billion, of which 23 in self-financing and 35 already allocated in the program contracts.
The plan then provides that in the decade the revenues of FS grow from 9 to 17,6 billion e the EBITDA from 2,3 to 4,6 billion. On the employment front, however, between growth, integrations and new acquisitions, the group estimates that the number of employees of FS will rise from the current 69 thousand to around 100 thousand.
Also expected an integration with Anas, which in a first phase should produce synergies for around 400 million in savings. Investments for Anas will reach 15,5 billion.
On the front of the public road transport, Fs aims to increase its market share from 6% in 2015 to 25% in 2026. In particular, for Busitalia, the group's road transport company which will also be active on long distances, the arrival of 3 new buses.
Mazzoncini then expressed his opinion on the bridge over the Strait of Messina: "From the construction point of view, it is an infrastructure that costs 3,9 billion", said the manager, underlining that the bridge should be seen as a "railway corridor", while in the past it was tackled as a road project in project financing, which implied a series of problems and a surge in costs up to 8 billion.
The debate on the Messina bridge it was reopened yesterday by Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, who today, speaking precisely at the presentation of the railway plan, announced that on Saturday 10 December the inauguration the new high-speed train line on the Treviglio-Brescia section.
“The ten-year railway project – Renzi said – fits into a framework in which Italy is trying to tell Europe that it needs to focus on infrastructure and investments. The FS plan is a plan that knows how to take risks, which knows how to look to the future, which combines very high excellence (high speed) and greater attention to commuters who need new trains and new buses”.
The Minister of Transport was also present at the Tiburtina station Graziano Delrio, who said he was "very happy" to learn that the railway network will remain public.
