2018 closed on a positive note for Snam, the company that manages the national gas network, which presents a balance sheet with total revenues of 2,6 billion, up by 2,1% due to the boost from the regulated business, and a adjusted net income just over one billion, up 7,4% on the 2017 figure. The figure, explains the company, benefits above all from the reduction in financial charges due to the drop in the cost of debt (from 2% in 2017 to 1,5% in the year just closed). Adjusted operating profit also rose to €1,4 billion, up 3,1% on the previous year.
The positive data of the 2018 financial statements allow Snam to increase the dividend to 22,63 cents per share overall, up 5% on last year: 9,05 cents have already been paid as an advance in January, the balance of 13,58 cents will be paid starting from 26 June 2019 with the coupon detachment set for 24 June 2019. The group led by Marco Alverà has finally decided to raise the guidance for 2019 with an improvement in expected profit of 5% (against the previous estimate of +4%) on 2018.
Technical investments amounted to 2018 million in 882 (compared to one billion in 2017), with a view to remodeling the financial effort based on greater efficiency, while debt remained almost unchanged: at the end of 2018 the level was equal to 11.548 million euros against the 11.550 recorded at the end of 2017. The generation of operating cash flow (1,8 billion euros) allowed the company to fully finance the requirements dictated by net investments ( approximately 1 billion) and, together with the collection deriving from the repayment by Tap of the loan disbursed by the shareholders, including, as known, Snam itself (which holds 20 per cent of the new gas pipeline project), determined a free cash flow of 1,2 billion euros.
“2018 was a year of great evolution for Snam – commented the CEO Marco Alverà -. We have exceeded all our industrial and financial objectives and the launch of the Snamtec project (for which 850 million euros of investments in the Strategic Plan presented in November) enhances the repositioning of the company as a protagonist of the energy transition". alverà, whose mandate expires with the approval of these financial statements, he recalls that the company "has increased earnings per share by 26% in the last two years (in 2018 the bar was 30,6 cents, +8,8% on the previous year ) and the dividend of 8 per cent, positioning us at the top end of the sector”.
The 2018 accounts, which are above expectations, at the moment do not warm investors: at the opening of a fairly negative session for Piazza Affari, the Snam share limits the damage compared to the Ftse Mib but is still traveling in the red, at 4,1 euros per action.
