Enav sets course on the Stock Exchange. The "goose that lays golden eggs", the "highway of the skies" or the "state jewel" - to name just a few of the definitions that can be read about the company that controls incoming, outgoing or passing air traffic on Italy – he revised the timing but the two-week postponement announced on Wednesday in Parliament and due to the concomitance with the referendum on Great Britain's exit (or not) from the EU, does not stop the privatization machine. Having discarded the hypothesis of June 13, we are now looking to July 4 for the launch of the IPO; two weeks of placement and road show, then from 19 July the landing in Piazza Affari: this seems to be the most probable, albeit unofficial, scenario. Superstition or not, the program is going ahead and the Brexit threat is not among the hypotheses on the table for the moment. He explains it Roberta Neri, CEO of Enav, in this interview with FIRSTonline which is also an opportunity to talk about a company valued by market estimates of between 1,8 and 2 billion and a business not in the spotlight but no less profitable for the investor.
From mid-June to early July: why this postponement of the IPO? In order not to run into the volatility of the markets linked to the English referendum or because there is a fear that the party in favor of Brexit will win?
“First of all I would like to clarify that there is no lag. From the outset, the privatization timetable indicated the first half of 2016 as an objective. Along the way, the path to follow was evaluated in more detail. Whatever the final outcome of the British referendum, the attention of the markets will certainly focus on the date of 23 June and our road show would not have received the necessary attention from investors. If there is no exit from the EU, everything will be resolved in a few days. If, on the contrary, yes prevails, the scenario remains to be written. We are not considering postponements at the moment. Once the referendum has taken place, we will have ten days to make our assessments. As a guideline we have spoken of the first week of July for the IPO and mid-July for the listing. We are optimistic and we are working in this direction”.
After the transformation into a joint stock company in 2001, a "historic" moment arrives for Enav: you will be among the few in the world to have opened the capital to private individuals and the only ones to be listed on the Stock Exchange. Isn't that a risk for an activity like air traffic control which in other countries is entrusted to public companies or is even directly managed by the state?
“The share control and management of ENAV will remain public, given that 51% of the company will still be in the hands of the Ministry of the Economy. As for other countries, so far only two companies in the world have been privatised: Nats in the United Kingdom and Nav in Canada. In particular, in the English case, 51% of the capital was sold with direct transfer, mainly to airlines. Subsequently, the weight of the companies was reduced with the entry of pension funds, thus mitigating the potential conflict of interest. The rest of the European context provides for companies that are entirely public or directly managed by the Ministry of Transport, as in France. Without a doubt, as a listed company we will be unique on an international level but in a context in which we have all the characteristics to be interesting for the market".
What are the strengths with which Enav presents itself to investors?
“We are a regulated company, the regulation is at European level and 41 countries participate. The same rules apply to all according to the principle of the single European sky, the management of the airspace as if it were a single one. The evolution of the other operators has also been similar to ours. The exclusive management of air traffic by a public entity has historical origins and arises from the military nature of the activity which gradually expanded to include civilian traffic. Almost everywhere the transition to the form of the joint stock company took place. Today Enav takes a further step with respect to the transformation into a joint stock company with the choice of the shareholder Tesoro to valorise public assets. 49% of the capital will be sold and this has led to the preference for a market operation”.
Will the placement be aimed primarily at institutional investors? What guarantee instruments are envisaged to ensure a sufficiently fragmented shareholder base and avoid conflict of interest?
“We are the first privatization of this period after Poste which, as a brand, is certainly better perceived by small savers. Our business, for the reasons we have mentioned, mainly interests institutional investors and it is to them, above all, that we will address without excluding a share for retail and for employees. This is the indication that emerges from the premarketing activity. We expect a multiplicity of institutional investors given the characteristics of a regulated business with high visibility and stability of flows; but also a mix of shareholders broken down by geographical area. So not only long-term and infrastructure funds but also hedges. We are also focusing on the foreign component, from Europe and the USA. Lastly, the operation envisages a 5% ceiling on voting rights precisely to guarantee a plurality of shareholders”.
ENAV is valued at between 1,8 and 2 billion euros. We are on values far from the "giants", such as Eni, Enel, Poste which preceded it on the path of privatization or as Ferrovie-Anas which will follow it. A jewel, but small. Can this favor or disadvantage you with respect to the interest of the market?
“I cannot confirm these figures, because the evaluation of the company has not yet been completed and will be established by the Treasury. On the other hand, there is no doubt that we are small compared to the groups mentioned but we have all the evidence of a healthy society that has room for further optimization. Large operations have been carried out before ours but the market is varied and not inflated. I see a positive context”.
If you were to convince an investor to buy Enav, what would you tell him?
“The company operates in a strategic sector in an exclusive context in Italy, the business is regulated with stable tariffs and revenues and with mechanisms to mitigate certain risks, such as traffic risk. Today the expectations of air traffic are certainly growing in Europe and beyond and this is a positive element of attraction for ENAV. Should the market context slow down or accelerate, tariffs will remain unchanged for deviations from -2 to +2 per cent. Above, and within 10%, the risk is shared between ENAV and the companies (70% borne by the latter). Over 10% are the companies that take charge of the deviation in full. This stabilizes the company's revenue prospects. In fact, our activity is divided between en-route activity, to support the crossing of traffic on our airspace of approximately 752.000 square kilometers, and terminal activity, during the approach, landing or take-off phases of aircraft at the 43 airports national. The first belongs to 4 control centers in Ciampino, Linate, Brindisi and Padua and represents almost 75% of our turnover.”
Enav's second quarter accounts will not be available at the time of placement: why?
“Times don't allow for it. We present the data for 2015, a year which closed with a consolidated profit of 66,1 million, up 65% on the previous year, the best result in the history of Enav. EBITDA improved by 8,6%. All this was possible thanks to a 10% cost reduction. The 2016 quarterly report recorded an improvement in the margin of 34% on an annual basis and a growth in turnover despite the seasonality which penalizes the first quarter compared to the summer period in which our activity is concentrated”.
Looking at the overall situation of the country and the framework in which privatization takes place, the only one scheduled for 2016, do you see progress or not?
“I think ENAV's characteristics are appreciable also and above all in a difficult context like that of the current market and the country. The European context itself presents critical elements. The purchases of corporate bonds by the ECB, on the other hand, are aimed at large companies but the fabric of small and medium-sized enterprises, prevalent in Italy, cannot benefit from them. And this could be a cause of delay for Italy”.
The number of women who hold the role of managing director in listed companies can be counted on the fingertips. Mondardini for the L'Espresso group and, until a few months ago, Treu for Il Sole 24Ore are among the few names to mention. Was it difficult to get the position of him? Do you think you had to work harder than a man to establish yourself?
“I don't know how hard a man is. As for me, I can say that I believed in my professional life and valued it. Sacrifices are part of everyone's life, the rest depends on the ability to organize oneself. My case could testify that there is not a gender problem and yet the numbers speak for themselves, even if I think that women's quotas are not enough to solve it. In ENAV, which as I said has a military origin, I discovered a presence and an important incidence of women. I myself have appointed the first woman to lead a control tower, that of Brindisi ".
