Hera Group

HERA

Type	Joint-stock company
Traded as	BIT: HER
Industry	Multiutility
Founded	2002
Headquarters	Bologna, Italy
Key people	Tomaso Tommasi di Vignano (Chairman) Maurizio Chiarini (CEO) Giorgio Razzoli (Vice Chairman) Roberto Barilli (General Operations Manager) Stefano Venier (General manager, Development & Markets)
Products	Natural gas, Water supply, Waste management and Electricity
Revenue	€ 4,492.7 million (end 2012)[1]
Operating income	€ 335.4 million (end 2012)[1]
Net income	€ €134.4 million (2012)[1]
Total assets	€ 6,699.5 million (end 2012)[2]
Total equity	€ 1,894.9 million (end 2012)[2]
Employees	6,629 (end 2012)
Website	gruppohera.it

Hera (Holding Energia Risorse Ambiente; English: Energy Resource Environment Holdings) is a multiutility company based in Bologna, Italy. Hera operates in the distribution of gas, water, energy, waste disposal the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì-Cesena, Modena, Ravenna, Rimini, Pesaro and Urbino, and in some municipalities of Florence and Ancona. In October 2012, Hera approved the merger with AcegasAps Group, which operates in the cities of Padua and Trieste. In 2013 Hera is the first Italian domestic operator for waste treated (above 5.4 million tons waste treated), the second one in the integrated Water cycle(300 million mc of water), the third player in gas distribution(2.9 billion of mc of gas distributed) and the 5th player in the Italian Electricity business in terms of electricity sold (11 TWh of electricity sold).

Corporate History

Established in 2002^[3] by the first merger of public utilities in the Emilia-Romagna region, which involved 11 companies in the Emilia-Romagna region; Hera Group is a national leader in the energy, water and environmental service management.

In 2003, Hera started the process to be listed on Milan Stock Exchange.,^[4] which led the company to be partly privatized, with 38.8% of its present share capital in private sectors. After 2003, Hera started to grow. In over five years, the Group merged with other Italian companies operating in distribution of energy, water and gas, such as Agea, Ecosea, Meta, Geat Distribution Gas and Sat Inc.

Hera also had many successful long-term contracts with foreign suppliers through the following years. In 2006, Hera signed a memorandum of understanding with Enel, Edison and Sonatrach. The memorandum provided the purchase [by Hera] of one billion cubic meters a year of natural gas transported through the methane pipeline belonging to Galsi, a partner company of Hera.

In July 2008 Hera acquired Megas Trade, selling gas and electricity to the Urbino area, owned by Marche Multiservices. The transaction formalized the birth of Hera Comm Marche, the commercial branch of the Hera Group for the Marche region, managed by Hera Comm.

On 25 July 2012, approval was given for the merger with Acegas-Aps S.p.A.^[5] (Trieste-Padua), which became part of the Hera Group as of 1 January 2013.

Company profile and Organizational Structure

Hera Group has an original business model.

The innovative way pursued by Hera makes the Group both a well structured company and an “open network”, allowing mergers with other new partners: that creates a solid business model even for other utility companies in Italy and abroad.^[6]

Multiutility Hera is an open business network, that welcomes new partners and assigns them a relevant role in the Company management, since they represent local operating structures, capable of understanding specific needs from the reference areas.

Strategies and activities are mainly carried out by the Holding, which has a leading and coordinating role through its seven Divisions: Environment, Services, Sales and Marketing, Fluids Distribution, Large Plants Engineering and Electricity Distribution, and District Heating.

Hera Comm is the trading company of Hera Group, operating in electricity and gas market throughout Italy.

Hera Comm Mediterranea operates exclusively in southern Italy; Hera Comm Marche, located in Urbino, is the commercial branch of the Hera Group in the Marche region and ownes an asset of more than 40,000 customers and 78 million cubic meters of gas sold.

Hera Group is also well known for its Sustainability Report^[7] and for its in the Company's business. This Report contains figures for the three main business area and presents Hera social and environmental responsibility. The Sustainability Report is published every year and its data are released and positively reviewed by the public.^[8]

Hera has a wide shareholding structure. The structure shows over 180 public institutions (about 61.3%), 369professional investors (about 25.2%), and over 21,000 private shareholders (about 13.0%).

The results in terms of EBITDA and net profit achieved by the Hera Group since its establishment register a continuous growth over the years. Hera follows a dividend distribution policy that rewards Group shareholders; amongst all, the Municipalities, are the main beneficiaries of Hera’s dividend policy.

Shareholders Base in 2013:^[9]

• 'Municipalities in the province of Bologna (14,993%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Modena (13,731%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Ravenna (7,791%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Trieste (5,708%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Padova (5,686%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Imola (5,319%)
• 'Municipalities in the province of Ferrara (2,428%)
• Lazard Asset Management LLC (2,013%)
• G.S.G.R. S.r.l. (2,010%)
• Carimonte HOLDING SPA (2,001%)

Trademark and identity

The Hera logo, as well as the bases of the company’s visual identity, were created in the autumn of 2002 by Dutch graphic designer Bob Noorda (designer of many other logos, some of which extremely well known such as Enel, Pirelli, Eni, the Rinascente, and the Milan Subway). The Hera Group’s Coordinated Image system was developed in 2003 and is described in a Visual Identity Manual that provides guidelines for the application of logos and the development of visual identities in the company’s main sectors. In 2007 a Style Manual was also introduced.

A few words about the logo from its designer: '"A new holding company with an original and crisp name requires an easily recognisable image. We focused on the idea of combining a symbol and a logotype in a single logo. The logotype required some special work to give it a modern and active feel; the four letters, inclined and becoming gradually thinner, express dynamism. The symbol clearly expresses three things:Energy – Resources – Environmental Activity which graphically flow into the word Hera. The colours – red for energy, blue for water and green for the environment – help express this symbol/logotype.”'

Current operations

The Hera Group operates in the public utility services sector, pursuing a sustainable management policy.

The Group’s main activities are: management of waste services (waste collection and disposal, waste-to-energy and composting), water services (treatment, purification, sewerage) and energy services (distribution and sale of methane gas and electricity, district heating).

Hera Group Ebitda composition (as at 31 December 2012):

• Waste Management (27.7%)
• Water (23.9%)
• Gas (36.4%)
• Electricity (9.4%)
• Other Services (2.6%)

Hera has the largest asset of waste treatment plants in Italy. The high percentage of separate waste collection and disposed in the reference areas makes the Group a major national operator in the field of environmental services:

• citizens served for waste: approx. 3.3 million
• tonnes of waste treated: 5.4 million
• number of plants: 80.

Hera Group has a considerable presence in Italy in terms of water services:

• water customers: over 3.6 million
• cubic metres of water sold: 300 million

Hera is a major national operator also in gas and electricity sectors:

• gas customers: over 1.4 million;
• electricity customers: 620,000;
• cubic metres of gas sold: 2.9 billion;
• electricity sold: 11 TWh.

Competitors and market shares: Benchmark by business ^[10]

Hera Group can be compared to the other listed Italian multi-utilities. Comparison on operating data by business (waste, water, gas and electricity) highlights also the market shares.

Waste: waste treated 2012 (000 ton)

• Hera Group 4,856
• A2A 2,457
• Iren 954
• Acegas 346
• Acea 218
• Acsm-agam 84

Water: volumes sold 2012 (ml mc)

• Acea 760
• Hera Group 253
• Iren 179
• Acegas 98
• A2A 69
• Acsm-agam 26
• Ascopiave 0

Gas: volumes sold 2012 (mld mc)

• Eni 14.6
• Enel 8.7
• A2A 3.8
• Hera Group 3.5
• Iren 3.2
• Ascopiave 1.1
• Acegas 0.5
• Acsm-agam 0.4
• Acea 0.1

Electricity: electricity sold 2012 (TWh)

• Enel 317
• Edison 51
• A2A 49
• Eni 43
• Acea 13
• Iren 14
• Hera Group 10
• Acegas 1
• Ascopiave 0
• Acsm-agam 0

References

External links

• Official site.