BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov.5
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Net financial expenses of Italian Snam company amounted to Euro 100 million in the first nine months of 2020, a decrease of Euro 26 million or 20.6 percent compared with the same period of 2019, Trend reports citing the company.
Snam is one of the world’s leading energy infrastructure operators and one of the largest Italian listed companies in terms of market capitalization.
“The decrease is mainly due to the optimization of the financial structure and treasury management, with a gross debt cost of 0.9 percent, despite the higher average financial debt for the period, influenced by additional equity investments, as well as the dividend payment to shareholders and share buyback activities. The reduction in net financial expenses was also affected by the pro-rata contribution from the OLT Shareholder Loan.
“Net income from equity investments amounted to Euro 163 million, a fall of Euro 7 million or 4.1 percent compared with the first nine months of 2019, following the lower contribution of the subsidiary Teréga, which in the first nine months of last year benefited from nonrecurring income, and Interconnector UK which, in line with forecasts, had lower capacity commitments compared to the same period last year. These effects were partly offset by the higher contribution from the subsidiary TAG, following rate updating mechanisms, related to the change in regulatory period, as well as the contribution from ADNOC Gas Pipelines, an interest acquired in July 2020.
“Adjusted net profit in the first nine months of 2020 amounted to Euro 873 million, an increase of Euro 6 million or 0.7 percent compared with the net profit achieved in the first nine months of 2019 (Euro 867 million), thanks to the optimisation of the financial structure and the solid contribution of the associates, as well as the reduction in income taxes following the reintroduction of the ACE benefit.
“On the basis of the results for the first nine months and the forecasts for the full year 2020, Snam’s Board of Directors approved the distribution to shareholders of an interim dividend for 2020 equal to Euro 0.0998 per share with payment from 20 January 2021, with an ex-dividend date of 18 January and a record date of 19 January,” reads Snam’s report on the first nine months of 2020.
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