Shares of Italgas (MIL:IG) inched higher by 1.1% as the company reported its 2024 results, surpassing Bloomberg consensus estimates with an EBITDA of €1.351 billion compared to the anticipated €1.335 billion.
The result was at the higher end of the company's own guidance of approximately €1.32-1.35 billion. Adjusted net income also exceeded expectations at €507 million, outpacing the consensus forecast of €479 million.
The Italian gas distributor proposed a dividend per share (DPS) of €0.406, marking a 15% increase YoY, which stands above the consensus estimate of €0.381 per share. The company's net debt decreased to €6.76 billion, including €91 million according to IFRS 16, from €6.90 billion at the end of the third quarter, aligning closely with the guidance of approximately €6.6 billion excluding IFRS 16.
RBC analysts commented on Italgas's recent acquisition of 2i Rete, stating, "We believe Italgas's acquisition of 2i Rete is value accretive even with our assumption of €100m/year of cost savings by 2030 which is half the amount guided by Italgas. This acquisition leads to slightly higher growth for a company trading at a discount vs. Italian regulated peers.
The only problem is that before that there is a substantial capital increase in which we know that at least one of the main shareholders of Italgas is going to sell a significant part of its subscription rights which could be a better buying opportunity."
