Revenues and profits up for Alperia in the first half of the year. The group closed the period with total Group revenues of 828.5 million euros, an increase compared to last year (+ 193.3 million). In the half-year, hydroelectric production decreased by 13% compared to that of the same period of the previous year; on the other hand, the average price of energy recorded on the Power Exchange was just under 67 euros / MWh, more than doubling the 2020 figure (equal to just over 32 euros / MWh), which had suffered the effects negative resulting from the spread of Covid – 19. The Group’s EBITDA was equal to 105.2 million euros compared to 86.1 million euros in the first half of 2020. The comparison between the two years is however not homogeneous, as the figure of 2021 is affected by the classification among the Continuing Operations of the company Biopower Sardegna Srl and the change in the scope of consolidation. The value of 105.2 million euro includes the economic effects of the derivative financial instruments relating to commodities, classified in the financial part in the previous half-year 2020; for reasons of comparability with the data of 2021, the same data of the previous year were similarly restated.
Group net profit for the first six months of 2021, equal to 32.3 million euros, was particularly positive and more than doubled compared to the figure for the first half of 2020, equal to 14.3 million euros. It should be remembered that the Group’s result is only partially affected by the increase in electricity prices, as it is the policy of the latter to cover itself in advance from price volatility through the forward sale of a large part of its hydroelectric production and the purchase at the end of part of the sale to end customers. The investments relating to the ordinary management of the Group made in the period under consideration amounted to a considerable increase, amounting to over € 63 million (in 2020 they were equal to over 38 million euros), in particular in the distribution of electricity to strengthen the quality and continuity of the service and in generation for the modernization of hydroelectric plants.
Net financial debt at 30 June 2021 amounted to € 570.2 million (the figure at the end of 2020 was 395.0 million euros), affected by the physiological cyclical nature of the Group’s activity which sees hydroelectric production concentrated in the summer months, the moratorium on the payment of bills granted by the Group to South Tyrolean companies following the continuation of the pandemic, the dividends approved by the shareholders’ meetings of the Group companies against the financial statements relating to 2020, the acquisition of the remaining 40% of the share capital of Alperia Bartucci, the important ordinary investments made by the Group.
As for the individual Business Units, the generation sees the production of electricity, concentrated almost exclusively in the hydroelectric source in the South Tyrolean area, of 1,795 GWh, a reduction of 13% compared to the same period of 2020. Sales and Trading: the quantity of electricity sold (end customers and wholesale) equal to 4,264 GWh is up compared to the same period of the previous year (+ 192 GWh); volumes of gas, at 264 million cubic meters, are also up compared to the first half of 2020 (+ 50 million cubic meters). In the Networks Business Unit, efforts continue to upgrade and modernize low and medium voltage plants following the adverse weather events of the last three years concentrated in the Isarco Valley, Val Martello, Val d’Ultimo, and the Sciliar plateau. The plan for the commissioning of the 2G smart metering system prepared by Edyna Srl continues: in the period considered, installations took place in the municipalities of Bassa Atesina and Val Pusteria.
In the Heat and Services Business Unit, electricity produced from cogeneration and biomass, equal to 140 GWh, is slightly down compared to that of the same period in 2020 (- 7 GWh). The production of thermal energy, equal to 128 GWht, is instead an increase compared to that of the first half of 2020 (+ 11 GWht). The Smart Region Business Unit includes Alperia Fiber, operating in the Smart Land and Dark Fiber areas, as well as Alperia Bartucci and the Green Power Group, active in the energy efficiency sector; the operations of the latter continued to be affected by the continuation of the pandemic and the technical / regulatory difficulties linked to the use by customers of the so-called superbonus 110% on jobs.
“In the first half of 2021 – comments on general manager Johann Wohlfarter – the Group operated in a context of economic recovery and a strongly bullish energy scenario, unlike what happened in the same period of the previous year, and the numbers of the half-year report – more than positive – reflect this trend. During the first half of 2021, the activities aimed at rationalizing and improving the efficiency of the Group structure were carried out, concluding the sale of the investment in PVB Power Bulgaria AD, which took place in the first days of March, and instead acquiring 40% of the share capital of Alperia Bartucci in mid-June; this latter operation will allow the Alperia Group to initiate – starting from 1 January 2022 – a process of reorganization of the entire Smart Region area, creating synergies and efficiencies ”.
“In consideration of the continuation of the pandemic also in the current year with all the negative consequences that this entails, the Group – declares the president Emma Kröss – maintained a prudential approach, inviting collaborators to continue using agile work and signing at the end of 2020 with the competent trade unions. a trade union agreement on smart working that will come into force at the end of the emergency period. As regards the relationship with the territory, the Group has decided to grant again in 2021 a moratorium on the payment of electricity and gas bills for South Tyrolean companies that enjoy an Alperia offer on the free market; in addition, a specific support initiative was reserved for domestic customers of the free market resident in Alto Adige who were in a difficult situation. This constitutes a further demonstration of the attention of the Alperia Group towards its reference territory. ”
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