Enel to focus on buyback of shares after strong Q1
Enel's management stated on Thursday that it is focused on introducing an share buyback program and negotiating a renewal of its network license in Italy.
The state-controlled company will follow the example of the oil and gas giants by asking shareholders to approve at the annual meeting on 22 May a plan to buy back its own shares worth up to €3.5 billion ($3.9 billion).
Investors will vote the same day on an option that allows shareholders to return shares they have acquired without reducing their group's capital. This is a way to reward shareholders beyond dividends.
Stefano De Angelis, Enel's Chief Finance Officer, told analysts during a conference call following the results that he hoped "the plan would be approved by May 22."
De Angelis said that the company was in talks with Italian authorities to extend its power distribution licence for 20 years.
The CFO stated that Enel may deploy capital in Spain and will use some of the financial space created by cutting net debt.
The group reported earnings before taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), which were 5.97 billion euro for the first three months, a little above LSEG's analyst consensus of 5,90 billion.
The ordinary EBITDA of the first quarter last year has been revised down to 5.87 billion Euros from 6.09 billion Euros to remove the effects of recent dispositions.
The utility's decision to cut electricity prices in Italy by 30-40% in order to retain customers, led it to lower its EBITDA than expected.
De Angelis stated that the group anticipates its retail business to stabilise in Italy in the next quarters.
The January-March quarter marked the seventh consecutive positive financial result for Flavio Cattaneo. He was appointed as chief executive two years ago.
Enel has confirmed that it expects its EBITDA to be between 22.9 billion and 23 billion euros in 2025. ($1 = $0.8918 euro) (Reporting and editing by Gail Jones, Francesca Landini)
(source: Reuters)
