17 dicembre 2018
Cerved Rating Agency has confirmed its A3.1 rating for Estra S.p.A., within the “Security” area of Cerved's rating scale — further acknowledgement of the Group's growth performance in 2017 and 2018 YTD.
The key factors that resulted in the rating assigned by Cerved Rating Agency relate to:
• Business model and competitive positioning:
Estra's model is divided into several business areas. In 2017, the Company was among the top ten players in natural gas distribution in Italy and among the top 15 in natural gas sales to the end market. The acquisition of the Foggia 1 North and Bari 2 South Minimum Geographical Areas (ATEMs) will further increase the weight of its distribution business. The strategic guidelines set in 2017 — focusing on organic and non-organic growth, development of the network (natural gas distribution and fibre-optic infrastructure) and innovative projects in service of the supply chain — continue to be implemented.
• Financial Highlights
In 2017, Estra’s Value of production amounted to €1.0 billion, in line with the previous year. In 2017, net profit grew to €16.1 million (+6.7% compared to 2016).
• Cash Flow:
In 2017, Net Operating Cash Flow was approximately €100 million, sharply improving over the previous year as a result of the working capital optimisation. Following this increase, Free Cash Flow also reported a positive performance.