Terna Rete Elettrica Adr

Good evening everyone and welcome to Terna's 2024-28 industrial plan update presentation. First of all, I would like to thank the people who are here with us today in Milan, as well as those who have joined us remotely. I'm here with Terna's CEO and General Manager Giuseppina Di Foggia and our CFO Francesco Beccali. Today's agenda includes an overview of the key achievements reached in 2024, the update of the energy scenario, a brief description of the new 10-year National Development Plan 2025-34, the presentation of our strategy and our 2024 results, and finally the upgrade of our 2024-28 financial targets. At the end of the presentation, there will be a Q&A session. So let me immediately hand over to our CEO. Please, Josie.

Thank you, Stefano, and welcome. Welcome, everyone. A year ago, I presented to you a plan that went further in investment and ambition than anything Terna has done before. We made a serious commitment to the future of energy. Over 16.5 billion euros of investment, an increase of 65% on the previous plan. I'm delighted to be able to tell you today, as we present an update of that plan, that across all parameters, we have not only maintained that commitment, but delivered beyond our expectations. This result is due to the diligence, expertise and professionalism of all those internal and thanks to our ever stronger relationships with all our major stakeholders, the government, the Regulatoria Rera and our partners. You can trust Ternat to keep its promises and even to exceed in the toughest of markets with the toughest of challenges. And as you will see today, we expect to go beyond the original ambition of the 2024-2028 plan Thank you very much. How do I believe this can be achieved? Through people and our people's strategy, through execution on all our major projects, with a solid financial structure and the ability to create value, and with wise and timely investment in digitalization and innovation. Let me begin by sharing with you the key achievements of these last 12 months. In 2024, we obtained authorization for 25 projects worth over 2.3 billion euros, increasing coverage of authorized projects up to about 90% of total planned CAPEX spending, compared to 79% in the previous plan. This result confirms Terna's role for the Italian energy transition and highlights our effective collaboration with institutions. Among the key projects authorized last year, there are two flagship initiatives. ELMED, the energy bridge connecting Italy and Tunisia, and the Adriatic Link, the submarine cable joining the Marche and Abruzzo regions. We have also started the construction activities for the Tyrrhenian Link, the Adriatic Link, and the connection between Sardinia, Corsica, and Tuscany. In addition, Terna signed a term sheet with the Chair for the acquisition of a portion of the high-voltage grid in and around Rome. This deal strengthens our network without material impact on our credit rating. It also reinforces the commitment to growth and expansion. Indeed, our growth trajectory is further demonstrated by the 2024 full year results, which reported high double-digit growth in all the key economic indicators. We will analyze these figures in depth later in the presentation. Lastly, I would like to emphasize our enforced leadership in sustainability. In 2024, for the 16th consecutive year, Terna was listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, reaffirming our global standing. Moving to the next slide. Let me remind you that, as the Italian TSO, we are responsible for ensuring energy security and constantly balancing electricity supply and demand, maintaining a reliable, efficient and accessible system. This is becoming increasingly challenging and even more crucial in the context of the ongoing transition shifting from fossil-based generation to an emission-free system. The EU has set ambitious decarbonisation targets and Italy has aligned its national policy to meet them. In July 2024, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security submitted the updated National Energy and Climate Plan to the European Commission, outlining key targets for 2030. Italy has a target of 60% of the overall electricity demand being met by renewable generation by 2030. This will be mainly achieved through strong growth in installed capacity of wind and solar generation reaching 107 gigawatts in 2030. To achieve these ambitious goals, our projects are and will be fundamental for the development of an adequate grid infrastructure. In the next slide, we will show you the key factors that will enable our country to meet these targets. The success of the Italian energy transition depends on the implementation of four main factors. Infrastructure development, the creation of efficient interconnections and the improvement of the transmission capacity to enhance the quality, security and resilience of the grid. Earlier this month, we identified the requirements for grid development when we presented the 2025 National Development Plan. This plan represents a structured and organic response to the challenges of the energy transition with over 23 billion euros of investments planned over the coming 10 years. The next factor is the integration of renewables. A well-developed infrastructure and systematic planning for the location of new renewable energy sources is fundamental to manage the ever increasing demand for connections. In this regard, let me remind you that in 2024 we launched Terra, a new digital portal for the efficient planning of renewables and infrastructures. Another factor is storage. This is vital to improve the flexibility of our system and to manage our generation. For this purpose, as we will see later in the presentation, Terna will manage the auctions to accelerate the necessary capacity to be sold by 2030. with the first auction taking place on the 30th of September. Finally, to ensure alignment between effective market development and energy scenarios, we need a market design that best integrates sport and forward markets for both energy and services, In this regard, we will enhance our institutional role supporting the government and ARERA in the identification of the right mix of market rules. Moving into details of the enabling factors just described. Let's firstly focus on the development and integration of renewables. It is worth noting that in recent years, the pace of installation of a renewable capacity has significantly accelerated, from an additional 3 gigawatts in 2022 to 5.8 gigawatts in 2023, reaching a new level of 7.5 gigawatts in 2024. However, the National Energy and Climate Plan sets the ambitious target of 107 gigawatts for wind and solar capacity in 2030. It is our task to support the growth of renewables by optimizing system planning. To ensure the timely deployment of a new renewable capacity, two supportive schemes have been designed. The so-called FedEx and FedChoose decrease. According to the 2025 Provisional Felix Decree, the first round of auctions is expected in 2025, supporting the development of up to 17.7 gigawatts of renewable capacity by 2028. Terna will continue to play a key role in integrating renewables into the system, supporting the Italian energy transition with a more sustainable and secure electricity grid. Parallel to the development of renewable technologies, new storage plants are essential for the integration of intermittent renewable generation into the energy system. At the end of 2024, electrochemical storage plants in operation reached a capacity of 12.9 gigawatt hours, most of which was installed over the last two years. These volumes are necessary to handle the flexibility needs of the system. To ensure the development of the required storage capacity, Terna has been charged with managing the auctions of the so-called Maxe incentive mechanism, starting from 2025. Maxi is an innovative mechanism for forward contracting of new storage capacity and will support the growth of utility-scale storage by accompanying development of renewable capacity. To determine NAM scenarios to meet the EU Fit for 55 package goals, 72 GWh of storage capacity will be required by 2030, in addition to hydro-pumped storage assets already available. Thanks to the combined development of renewables and storage technologies enabled by transmission grid development, we expect not only to meet the European decarbonization targets, but we will also help reduce Italian dependence on imported commodities. In 2024, around 16% of the energy demand was imported directly via power lines, while 41% was produced in Italy by renewable power plants. The remaining 43% comes from conventional technologies, mainly gas-fired power plants. The majority of gas used in Italy is imported. Therefore, generation from gas power plants can be seen as an indirect import of energy. Looking forward, National Energy and Climate Plan targets foresee an additional 57 gigawatts of solar and wind generation installed capacity by 2030. The incremental renewable production will replace an equivalent volume of gas generation, ensuring that 63% of domestic consumption will be met by renewables. This means a significant lower dependence of the Italian electricity system on commodities, which could fall from around 60% in 2024 to 37% by 2030, with a positive impact on security of supply and on the stability of the energy bills paid by consumers. In this scenario, the development of renewable energy sources and storage, supported by long-term contracts, will not only allow for greater stability in electricity bills, but will also significantly reduce the weight of the variable component of the bill, with a potential halving by 2030. Moving now to the next slide and the consequences of climate change. The electricity system faces growing and unprecedented challenges. In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the frequency of extreme weather events worldwide. This trend has raised the vulnerability of critical infrastructures, including the electricity transmission network. In this context, events like drought, floods, strong winds, landslides, heavy snowfalls and wildfires can cause structural failure. In Italy, 2024 registered around 350 extreme weather events, six times the number of 2015. As climate patterns become increasingly volatile, ensuring the reliability, security and resilience of the grid is not just a business priority, it is a national and global necessity. addresses such challenges through the resilience plan enabled by constant innovation and digitalization. These efforts are crucial to ensure a robust and adaptive energy infrastructure capable of mitigating the evolving climate challenges of the future. To summarize this opening session, which has examined the context in which we operate as a TSO, Terna will need to continue to develop the grid to enable the integration of renewables to achieve decarbonization targets. Support greater energy independence for the system contributing to the reduction of cost volatility for end users. Guarantee the security of the transmission grid and high standards of service and increase grid resilience to face the growing number of extreme weather events. After this overview of the current energy scenario, let me now share with you Terna's main tool to best achieve our objectives, the 10-year National Development Plan, moving to the next slide. We presented our new 10-year national development plan just 11 days ago. The national development plan includes an investment program of more than 23 billion euros over the 10-year period 2025-2034, an increase of 10% compared to the previous development plan. The interventions planned over the next 10 years, shown on the right of the screen, aim at ensuring the efficiency and resilience, sustainability and security of the grid, as well as the integration of renewable energy production. Among the main expected benefits, the exchange capacity between market zones, currently at around 16 GW, will reach about 39 GW once the projects included in the plan will enter into operation. Planned interconnections will enable an increase in the exchange capacity with other countries by approximately 40% compared to current values, increasing the security and reliability of the system. Furthermore, a total reduction in CO2 emissions of up to 2,000 kilotons per year is expected by 2030. The National Development Plan includes several initiatives aimed at increasing transport capacity between market zones, thus creating corridors that will improve grid congestion and support the integration of renewables in line with European targets. Several strategic projects that are either already authorized or actually underway are expected to be completed by 2030. These include the tyrannical link between Campania, Sicily and Sardinia, the erratic link between the Abruzzo and Marche regions, the psychiatry cable connection between Sardinia, Corsica and Tuscany, and the inter-connection between Italy and Tunisia, as well as the rationalization of the Northern Calabria grid. Then, by 2034, further infrastructure reinforcements are planned, including the HVDC Milano-Montalto, the HVDC Foggia-Forlì, the central link between Umbria and Tuscany, and the first pole of the new Italy-Greece interconnection. Finally, several new initiatives will be underway by 2040 to reinforce net transfer capacity between market zones. Now let's move to the illustration of our strategy. Last year we presented a record level of investments for 2024-2028. I can announce today that we will further increase our effort. Indeed, we now expect to invest around 70.7 billion euros in the 2024-2028 period. This is an increase of more than 1 billion euros compared to our forecast last year. 16.6 billion euros will be allocated to regulated activities, a new record of the investments on the national electricity grid. The increase compared to the previous plan is mainly due to Firstly, our security plan, including costs of plant machinery and strengthening cybersecurity initiatives, as well as the renewal of assets and other investments. These include new projects aimed at strengthening digitalization through the use of new technologies and the adoption of artificial intelligence, data-driven technologies and robotics. Now, let's focus on three important areas of our strategic progress. Authorization, procurement and execution. With authorization and procurement, we have made significant progress in reducing approval times. This has been achieved by streamlining internal processes and continuing collaboration with authorities. We have also announced supplier relationships and contract management. Indeed, of the 2024-2028 updated CAPEX plan, about 90% has been already authorized and around 80% is covered by procurement contracts which represents an increase of about 10% versus last year for both indicators despite the higher level of total capex. Regarding execution, our projects are advancing smoothly thanks to the integration of new technologies and digital solutions that enhance efficiency, ensure safety and sustainability. To summarize, we have made strong progress in all three areas, positioning ourselves well to meet our strategic goals and continue delivering on our commitments. Regarding non-regulated activities, let's move to the next slide. As you know, non-regulated activities are complementary to Terna's business model. These activities are focused on equipment, energy solutions, interconnector and connectivity, offering Eterna and other customers cutting-edge technological and digital solutions. Brooke and Tamini have a key role as they support the group's supply chain in the execution of regulated projects outlined in the plan. For this purpose, we are working to increase the production capacity for both Brooke and Tamini. Regarding Tamini, Specifically, I can announce we have launched a preliminary assessment for the construction of a new factory. Our energy services can exploit opportunities in the growing energy market, contributing to the achievement of the energy transition. By leveraging the expertise gained in this area, energy services are expected to grow substantially, creating value both for the group and for Italy. As we will see later, although we will maintain a capital-light approach for the development of these areas, non-regulated business will increase its contribution to the group's EBITDA compared to the assumptions in the last business plan. Now, let's look at digital. As anticipated earlier, we will continue to focus on innovation and digitalization. In this respect, we will further increase investments in digitalization 2.4 billion euros over the period 2024-2028, an increase of more than 20% compared to the previous plan. Terna is developing a roadmap for the entire TSO value chain. As you can see, we have designed digital transformation around four pillars. Process digitalization, embracing automation for enterprise processes, and developing electric station digitalization. Use of a digital twin, boosting building information modeling, digitalization of asset maintenance and workforce. Ensuring a data-driven company, supporting finance and supply chain decision and risk management, and co-pilot for electricity dispatching. Tech adoption, identifying and leveraging new technologies to support operational processes, training and a digital mindset for employees. To guarantee the effectiveness of this approach, we identified two horizontal streams. Digital value to monitor digital adoption and value generation. Resilience and cyber transforming the way we run our business, supporting digital transformation and guaranteeing business continuity of our infrastructures. Finally, as far as our strategy is concerned, let us look at sustainability. Terna will maintain an approach based on robust and certified targets and we are committed to following the regulations set out in the Science-Based Targets Initiative. Regarding climate change, to boost our current commitment for a 46% reduction of scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 compared to 2019, Terna undertakes to set a new net zero target to be achieved by 2050. In terms of nature protection, Terna confirms its path towards defining a science-based target for nature, aiming for certification by 2026. Given the importance of the topic of climate change adaptation, for the first time the sustainability plan includes targets and actions related to climate adaptation and system resilience. On the social front, Terna reiterates the commitment to workplace safety and stakeholder engagement with specific objectives in the sustainability plan. Regarding social inclusion, Terna has created the Terna Foundation. Its mandate is to mitigate energy and educational poverty and promote equal opportunity and access to the energy sector, as well as spread a culture of energy efficiency and promote energy awareness. For sustainability of its supply chain, Terna integrates circularity principles into its business model and aims to take into account the social environmental impacts by considering the criteria of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive by 2026. I will now hand over to our CFO to present Terna's excellent 2024 results and to highlight the financial improvement of our 2024-2028 industrial plan. Thank you for your attention so far. Please, Francesco.

Thanks, Giuse. I will now go through the main results we achieved last year. In 2024, Group revenues and EBITDA were up by 15 and 18% respectively versus the previous year, which means 494 million and 398 million higher than 2023, while group net income was at 1 billion and 62 million euros, which with a huge increase of 20% versus 2023. Group CapEx stood at 2.7 billion euros, an increase of 18% versus 2023, confirming once again the robust CapEx acceleration to serve system needs. To support this CapEx acceleration, at the end of December 2024, net debt was at 11.2 billion euros versus about 10.5 billion at 2023 year-end. As you can appreciate, all the main figures of the period registered a double-digit growth in comparison with last year, exceeding the provided guidance for the year already revised upwards during the presentation of the nine-month result of 2024 last November. Now, let me just spend a few words to deep dive on the presented figures for 2024, turning to the next slide. Let's start with revenues analysis. Regulated revenues reached 3.1 billion euros, up 16%, mainly driven by the increase in RAP and the updated value of regulatory work. Non-regulated and international revenues reached 584 million euros, 13% higher than last year. Non-regulated revenues growth was mainly attributable to the increase in revenues coming from the equipment business related to Tamini and to the higher contribution of LT Group's energy services. International revenues were set to zero. Given that the requirements of IFRS 5 have been met, the total results for 2024 and 2023 attributable to the South American subsidiaries included in the planned sale of assets Initiated at the end of 2021, have been classified in the item profit and loss for the period from assets held for sale, in the group's reclassified income statement. Now, let me analyze EBITDA, moving forward to the next slide. In 2024, Group EBITDA reached 2.57 billion euros, 18.3% higher than last year. The increase was mainly attributable to regulated activities, which contributed for about 376 million euros more than last year, showing an EBITDA of 2.46 billion in 2024. Also non-regulated activities contributed to the EBITDA improvement, with a 27% growth versus 2023, showing an EBITDA of 105 million euros. Let's now have a look to the lower part of the P&L. DNA amounted to 889 million. The increase versus last year was mainly due to the impact of new assets becoming operational in the period. As a consequence, EBIT reached 1,677,000,000 euros, 23% higher versus 2023. We reported net financial expenses at 172 million euros. The increase versus last year was mainly attributable to the subscription of new financings at higher interest rates compared to the average cost of existing debts partially mitigated by higher financial income on available liquidity and higher capitalized financial expenses. Tax stood at 455 million, 91 million euros higher versus last year and our tax rate stood at 30.2%. As a result, group net income reached 1 billion and 62 million euros, 20% higher versus last year. Moving to CAPEX analysis now. In 2024, total capex amounted to 2.7 billion euros, about 18% higher than last year, confirming Terna's great ability to reach its goals despite the macroeconomic scenario in which we operate. Indeed, we invested about 2.6 billion in regulated activities, Among the main projects of the period, it is worth mentioning the Tyrannian Link, the Adriatic Link, modernization of the high-voltage grid in the locations due to host the Winter Olympics in 2026, the SACOI-3, the Colunga-Calenzano power line between Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany, and the investments in stabilization devices such as synchronous compensators for grid security. As far as CAPEX categories are concerned, development CAPEX represented 60% of our total regulated CAPEX. Defense CAPEX stood at 11%, while asset renewal and efficiency was at 29%. Non-regulated and other CAPEX stood at 123 million euros. This included capitalized financial charges and other investments. Regarding now net debt and cash flow analysis, let's move to the next slide. Net debt at the end of December 2024 stood at 11.2 billion euros, about 7 million higher than 2023 year-end level, mainly as a consequence of the CapEx acceleration made on the national grid and on the 850 million euros hybrid issuance made in April accounted as equity. During the year, we generated an operating cash flow at 1.9 billion euros, thanks to which we were able to cover more than 70% of the cap expending of the period. Thanks to this transaction and to the solid cash flow generation, we estimate our FFO to net debt ratio at around 15% in 2024. After the explanation of our solid 2024 starting point, let's now move on 2024-2028 group financial targets. The industrial plan for 2024-2028, presented last March, marked a bold and decisive step forward, with a remarkable acceleration in our regulated investments, totaling €15.5 billion, with a growth of 60% compared to the previous plan, showing our strong commitment to growth and innovation. Now, for the same period, we are raising the bar even higher, increasing our regulated investments to 16.6 billion euros. That's the highest investment plan ever, marking a 7% jump, reinforcing our determination to lead the way in the energy transition. As a direct result of this dynamic growth, our regulatory asset base will grow from 22.5 billion euros in 2024 to approximately 25 billion euros in 2025, reaching 31.8 billion euros by 2028. This represents a solid annual compound growth rate at 9% over the planned period, compared to the 8% of the previous plan. Let's now have a look at the breakdown of the CAPEX plan, turning to the next slide. Development capex will reach 10.8 billion euros accumulated over the planned period, in line with the previous plan. The most significant projects remain consistent with those outlined in last year's plan. The Tyrannian Link, which will deliver a substantial increase in volumes, the Sakhoi Free and the Adriatic Link. In addition, other non-HVDC installations will include interconnections and projects designed to minimize network bottlenecks, reduce congestion, integrate renewable energy, and maximize the performance of our existing assets. Regarding asset renewal and efficiency investments, we are allocating around 3.6 billion euros. Our focus will be on enhancing service and process quality, as well as developing solutions to improve the sustainability of the network. The defense plan and other CAPEX stood for 2.3 billion euros accumulated over the 2024-2028 period. This includes initiatives aimed at digitizing and managing the grid, while also strengthening both physical and cybersecurity. Our goal is to improve our ability to respond technically and technologically to system demands, ensuring greater flexibility and enhanced functionality of the grid. Finally, investments in network resilience, totaling approximately 900 million euros, will be spread across the security, asset renewal and development plans. This remains a key focus in our industrial plan, with a clear commitment to enhancing wheat performance through strengthening the network structure and driving the digitalization of plants and processes. Regarding the regulatory environment and regulatory milestones, let's go to the next slide. At the end of 2024, coinciding with the conclusion of the first sub-period of the 2022-2027 WAC, the authority set the weighted average cost of capital for electricity transmission for 2025 at a real rate of 5.5%. This will be subject to a potential annual review if updates to the key macroeconomic variables result in a change of more than 30 basis points in the final value. During 2024, the Authority also approved the renewal of frameworks related to output-based incentives. These renewed frameworks will be in place until 2030 for incentives related to the reduction of dispatching market costs and until 2027 for incentives aimed at increasing interzonal transmission capacity, as well as for the use of the public capital contributions. Looking ahead to the implementation of the ROS Integrale framework, which is expected to come into force in 2026. We remain confident in the regulatory environment's full support for investments in the transmission network. This is essential in reducing reliance on fossil fuels and consequently on energy dependence from abroad. The path initiated by the regulator with output-based incentives and the mechanism of the so-called ROS base, such as the fast-slow-money mechanism, aims at encouraging the most useful and efficient investments while also supporting the economic and financial sustainability of the investment plan. We expect this support will be further strengthened with the ROS Integrale framework. In 2028, a new regulatory period will begin, with updates to the weighted average cost of capital, tariff criteria, and potential changes to the output-based mechanisms. Now, let's have a closer look at non-regulated activities, turning to the next slide. For what concerns the role of non-regulated activities in our industrial plan, Let me underline that the ongoing energy transition is a powerful driver for growth in this sector, with a projected plus 20% increase in cumulative EBITDA compared with the previous plan, reaching about €730 million between 2024 and 2028. This expansion will be fueled by three key areas. Firstly, the equipment sector, with industrial presence in high-voltage cables and transformers, where we see a significant surge in demand. Brugge will strengthen its position in core markets while expanding into Asia, Saudi Arabia and the Middle East. At the same time, Taminif will increase its production capacity to meet the rising needs of the market. Secondly, the energy service sector benefiting from a rapidly growing market driven by the energy transition. So, we will focus on EPC for photovoltaics, interconnectors and innovative energy solutions. Lastly, not for importance, the connectivity sector, which continues to gain momentum thanks to a solid backlog of strategic contracts and expansion into new markets such as black calling. In short, non-regulated activities will be part of our growth strategy, significantly contributing to value creation and strengthening our presence in high potential markets. With a clear vision and a robust plan, We are ready to seize the opportunities ahead and drive our group towards a new phase of expansion and success. Now, let me share with you the updated guidance of the plan. Here is an overview of our revenues, margins and capex are expected to evolve over the course of the plan period. In 2025, we project revenues of approximately €4.3 billion and EBITDA of €2.7 billion. We anticipate these figures will grow to €5.19 billion in revenues and €3.36 billion in EBITDA by 2028. Compared to the previous plan, which forecasted €4.6 billion in revenues and €3.25 billion in EBITDA for 2028. This margin growth will also be reflected in net income which is expected to rise from €1.8 billion in 2025 to €1.19 billion in 2028. Exceeding the 1.1 billion euros net income forecasted in the previous plan. As far as total capital expenditures are concerned, we are planning to invest 3.4 billion euros in 2025 and the cumulative capex for the period of 2024-2028 will reach 17.7 billion euros, as already mentioned. As we have just seen, We expect net income to grow to around 1.2 billion euros by 2028, representing an increase of over 300 million euros compared to 2023, with a compound annual growth rate of earnings at 6% throughout the planned period. This is an improvement compared to the previous plan, which forecasted a 5% compounded annual growth. Regarding dividends, let me remind you that our dividend policy, which we presented last year, provides for 2024 dividends to be equal to the higher of 4% growth versus 2023 and a payout ratio at 75%. Thanks to the solid results we have just presented, our proposed dividend for 2024 is 39.62 euro. Up 17% year on year. From 2025, our new dividend policy foresees the dividend per share will be equal to the higher of an annual growth of 4%, maintaining the 2023 DPS as a reference, and the 39.62 euro cents per share proposed as 2024 dividend, which will become the new floor of Terna dividend per share. With these earnings projections and our new dividend policy in place, we are reinforcing an investment proposal that balances both yield and growth, providing long-term visibility and stability. We reaffirm our commitment to maintain a solid financial structure throughout the entire planned period. To achieve this, we will leverage all available management tools to keep leverage under control, including the possibility of increasing the hybrid bonds in our capital structure up to full hybrid capacity. Despite the acceleration of investments, we confirm our commitment to keep the credit rating at current level, as demonstrated by the inhibitions made in April 2024. We expect the average cost of net debt over the planned period to be at 3.1%, an improvement compared to the forecasted rate of last year. To conclude, the assessments of the main ESG rating agencies placed Terna in the leadership group, demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach adopted by the company with respect to sustainability issues. For example, Moody's ESG rewarded Terna with the highest rating level, i.e. Advance. Similarly, Sustainalytics has placed Terna in the best risk band, which is negligible. Now, before the Q&A session, I would like to leave the floor to the CEO for closing remarks.

Thank you Francesco. And now let me conclude with the main highlights of this 2024-2028 industrial plan update presentation. We reaffirm that our strategic priority as a TSO is to drive the energy transition towards renewables in Italy, enhancing the quality, security and resilience of the grid while significantly reducing the dependence of our electricity system on imported commodities. The development of renewable energy sources and storage supported by long-term contracts will also allow for a greater stability of electricity bills for final consumers. We are strongly focused on the execution of our projects and we have made major progress in both permitting and procurement. Despite the acceleration of investments foreseen in the 2024-2028 plan presented last year, we have further stepped up our effort with more than 16 billion euros of investments in the domestic grid by 2028. 2024 results, which show the high double-digit growth in all key economic indicators, demonstrated once again our history of consistency and our ability to deliver. With this plan update, we are in a position to guide the market to a further improvement of results in 2025 and market speed-up of investments. Thanks to the efforts we are making to support the energy transition through higher regulated investments and by maximizing performance in non-regulated businesses, we are able to improve our net profit growth target to an average of 6% per annum over the planned period while ensuring financial stability and sustainability. With this strategy in place, we are confident to be on the right path, confident we are empowering tomorrow, creating the energy grid of the future. Thanks to improved financial targets and a new and more solid dividend policy, we are offering our shareholders an investment proposition that balances yield and growth with long-term visibility and stability. In conclusion, our additional commitment to digitalization from 2 billion euros last year to 2.4 billion euros in this plan update shows we intend to continue to pursue the twin transition, energy and digital. Thanks to the progress made also on the ESG Gold Set last year and the establishment of the Terna Foundation, we confirm the inclusion and environmental and social impacts at the core of our strategy to achieve a just transition and an equitable solution for everyone. Thank you.

Thanks, Giuse and Francesco. We'll start now the Q&A session. So I kindly ask you to raise your hand and say your name and company. Thank you. Please, Javier. You can switch on your microphone. Thank you.

Thank you for the presentation, Javier Suarez, Mediobanca. Three questions that has to do with maybe a new plan comparison versus the previous one and the financial sustainability of the plan. So the first question is on the plan, the company is increasing debt and is increasing capex. So the question for you is, which is the assumption of higher hybrid emissions to finance the plant? I think that the company, as we speak, has 1.8 billion euros of hybrid issue in the market. What are you assuming a total number of hybrids by 2028 to finance this plant? The second question is related to this financial solidity kind of argument. Can you share with us the EPS CAGR to 2028? Because obviously on the EPS, we should adjust for the financial cost of the hybrid. So the question for you, you can share with us the EPS growth as well. And the third question is related to the slide on which you are making the presentation of this plan versus the previous business plan. In the previous business plan, the EBITDA margin was at 70%. On the new business plan, it's lower. It's at 64%. So can you... I think they are all for me. So let's start from the increasing debt and increasing capex here.

The answer is short and easy. The assumption under this business plan is that we will not raise any additional hybrid capital over the business plan horizon. Why? You might remember that we said last year and we repeat today that if needed we are ready in order to protect our rating to use All our hybrid capacity. I remind you that the total amount, accordingly with the methodology of Standard & Pulse, which is the more restrictive one, for Terna is at about 4 billion euros. So we still have 2.2 billion more or less of additional hybrid capacity to use. Having said that, the positive results of this plan, the additional visibility on future results, allow us to not having the need of issuing additional hybrids, also to maintain current rating level. Indeed, if you look at 2024, and you remember what we used to say last year, the left-footed debt expected was below 14%, whereas now we are above 15%. And the same applies to all the curve. You will notice that the amount of accumulated net income over the business horizon is significantly higher. allowing an higher FFO and therefore to avoid issuance of new hybrids. Therefore, I come to the second question. The EPS adjusted compounded annual growth rate is basically the same because we are not assuming any additional new hybrid issuance over the planned period. As far as the EBITDA margin is concerned, It's true, the contribution coming from non-regulated activities is increasing. It's increasing in nominal terms. In percentage terms, we are still in the era of 5% vis-à-vis the total EBITDA of the group. And this amount will not materially change over the prior horizon. We still consider non-regulated activities as non-core for our business. Nevertheless, we are already starting and we plan to do it more and more leveraging on the fact that we have invested in markets which are close to our core business and therefore close to the energy transition. So they are now benefiting from the positive trend that is characterizing all the energy transition markets. This is the reason why we are planning an increase of more or less 130 million euros in terms of EBITDA, which by definition will imply a higher increase in revenues because the average EBITDA margin for our non-regulated business revolves around 15%. So this is mainly the reason. Let me come back for a second to your question related to also the financial sustainability of the plant because it is consistent with the fact that we consider non-regulated activities as non-core. This means that they are just as hybrids are flexibility tools Thank you very much. Thank you very much. and doing it in a way with multiples which are accretive under a rating standpoint, which is the main constraints that we have. We will look at any possibility of monetizing those businesses only if it will be accretive under a rating standpoint.

Please, Bartek. Thank you very much. Good evening. Bartek Kubicki Bernstein. Thank you for the presentation. Two sort of general questions and one maybe number of questions, if it's okay. First of all, I would like to ask you about regulatory upsides. One of the things which to me is a little bit unfair for Terna versus other regulated names in Italy is the remuneration of work in progress. which actually penalizes you for investing more than others. So I wonder what is the upside here to kind of equalize the remuneration on work in progress towards the remuneration of RAP and consequently impacting your earnings and whether you are in any discussions with the regulator regarding this. Second of all, looking at your 10-year plan, just two numbers, $23 billion for 10 years, $40 billion for the whole capex included in the 10-year. So I just wonder how long this megatrend of super high investment in transmission will last. So how many years we should actually somehow discount in our models for your growth. And last question, just on numbers, if we look at your 25 years, I start with the numerical question. As far as regulatory upsides are concerned,

Well Bart, in Italy we say you have to pick your enemies and the work in progress remuneration is true that it is penalizing if you compare it with the remuneration of the regulated asset base but we cannot forget that it was much more penalizing in the past. You might remember that the regulator just introduced a new, they did it with the introduction of the resolution which was introducing the Ross-Base mechanism. They just introduced a new regulation for work in progress and they did it after a meeting consultation also with us because they were basically recognizing the fact that the basket of capex of Ternach was evolving over time because the energy transition and the increase in CAPEX was leading us to a CAPEX plan characterized by a few very big projects which implies by definition almost automatically an increase in work in progress. So they significantly improved this remuneration. I remember that the previous remuneration was foreseeing A lower WAC, which was more or less 100 basis points lower than the remuneration of the RAP, which was lasting for two years, and then which was forecasted to decrease in year three and year four significantly, down to also 1%, according to a peculiar formula, and it was zero from year five onwards. Now, the new remuneration scheme foresees a constant WAC, Still lower than the one of the RAB, more or less of 100 basis points, but the amount of working capital is now revalued by inflation. and the amount is called the tariff is constant for four years and it can be further extended for additional two years for the project which worth more than 1 billion euros. So I do agree with you that we can do better as far as the remuneration of work in progress is concerned but I have to point out the fact that we just obtained a significant result and we are very very happy honestly with it. Then on top of it, you know that we always try to tell the same story. It's difficult to look at the Italian regulation, together with the CEO we always say this thing, you cannot focus on single specific parameters. You have to look at the regulation as a whole. So you might have to give up something on some items in order to receive a total remuneration which will allow you to fund in a sustainable way the CAPEX plan. As far as the...

Okay, because you asked about the national development plan, the 10 years plan, with 23 billion euros of investment. And linking my answer to what my colleague was saying about RERA and CAPEX, and authority. We have a very positive view of ARERA approach to the ROS system in which we see an opportunity to create further value For the system and for our shareholders and based on that we developed our plan. We will continue to work to make the energy transition as for our country it means enabling the energy independence. This is why it's really important, it's key to us, and minimizing the costs for final consumers. I can add that we want to continue to maintain our risk profile and solid grade rating level, investment grade rating level. We are open, eventually, to alternative tools, financial tools, to keep, to maintain our financial solidity, such as public grant. We already use them, for example, the PNRR in the past, and we are using still PNRR. or opening the capital of non-regulated activities. These are in a few words the concept under our 10 years plan. Please for the third question.

As to the main driver of the 2025 guidances, the growth in EBITDA is only related to regulated activities. I would say that the main component, the increasing RAP, which is basically capitalizing, and the fast money. You know that we have the most recent resolution from ARERA, which introduced some changing in the fast money, slow money recognition, anticipating some value at 2025. So basically there are 235 million euros of difference between EBITDA in 2025 that can be explained mostly by a regulated act.

Gonzalo

Gonzalo Sánchez-Bordona from UBS. A couple of questions on my side. The plan looks very promising and I just wanted to understand whether you see any risks on the execution and particularly which relates with the execution of the energy transition in general in Italy, whether that could have any impact. I'm assuming no, given that 90% of the plan or the investments are sort of contracted or secured, but I just wanted to get your views on that. And then the second on the point that the CEO was making on alternative sources of financing. When do you expect to take a decision on that? I'm assuming whether that is needed or not. And is that something more towards 2028 or something that could happen earlier? Thank you. Okay.

So, talking about renewables in Italy, the energy transition, to meet the targets set by the national plan for energy and climate, Italy will need additional 57 gigawatts from wind and solar. Capacity by 2030. And to be honest, we are accelerating a lot. As we said, in the last year, the pace of installations has increased. 3 gigawatts added in 2022, almost 6 gigawatts in 2023, 7.5 gigawatts in 2020. In 2024 we are continuing to accelerate so to To continue to meet this considerable challenge, lots of efforts and actions are in place. First of all, we have to coordinate the increasing requests of renewables connection with an equivalent, let me say, development of the infrastructure. And this is why our plan with all those investments and on the other side we have to continue to work with the local administrations, institutions to speed up the authorization process and also on that I can say that we are on the right path and our plan is strong As we said, 90% has been already authorized. And you have to take into account that 80% has been already covered by existing procurement contract. So let me say that we are also supporting the increase of storage capacity to the maximum mechanism So we are contributing to this, let me say, journey to make in Italy the energy transition.

As far as the alternative financing measures of the plan are concerned, sorry for repeating, but this plan is... Extremely solid, and it is totally sustainable under a financial standpoint. As I was saying at the beginning of my speech, we think that we will be able to, we would be able to maintain, we could be able, let's say, to maintain current rating levels without issuing any additional library. Nevertheless, we commit to do so if it will be needed instead. Generally speaking, we have, let's say, four, I would say, four plus one flexibility tools that we can rely on in order to maintain the rating under control if needed. And again, at the moment, it is not needed, but let me tell you. I already told you about the non-core activities, which is a potential strong flexibility tool. And we already discussed the hybrids. Then we have grants from EU. Current plan, just like we did for the previous one, is currently assuming a total amount slightly above 1 billion euros of grants from EU. To this extent, let me remind you that the same resolution which introduced the Fasmani-Solomoni also improved the remuneration of the grants for the TSO. Basically, we are now entitled to claim for an amount which goes from 5% to 15% of the amount of the grant that we are able to lock, and which will be paid in three years' time, starting from the year after the reception of the grant. This means that, obviously, We still have as an objective to increase the RAP, which is our bread and butter. So we want to increase our capital, increase the RAP and get paid out of it. But we cannot forget that if we rely on grants, we will not be able to increase RAP, but the debt will not increase neither, and we will receive financial support, financial incentives. So basically the ROE of the specific project will be infinite. On top of grants, we also have a more, let's say, qualitative tool, which means that we can go through the prioritization of our CAPEX plan. This is an exercise that we did in the last National Development Plan. in order to spread the CAPEX over time, prioritizing the ones which are really needed under an electrical standpoint. So those are, and by the way, if you look at the increasing capex of this capex plan, we have more or less 1 billion euros of increasing capex. This 1 billion euros is the result of three main factors. On the one hand, an increase in costs, in raw material prices, by the way, inflation in a wider term. On the other hand, we had some additional projects, mainly related to renewal and digitalization, but those effects were partially offset by a prioritization exercise that we made internally in order to spread over time the CAPEX which did not have top priority under an electrical standpoint. So those are the four, the real four tools, flexibility tools. Then we have the plus one tool which is to work on the numerator instead of working on the denominator. The CEO was mentioning the fact that we are confident On the fact that the upcoming ROS Integrale framework will be positive for us, we see it as an opportunity. Generally speaking, let me say that we welcome, very favourably, the transition from an input-based regulatory framework towards an output-based one. In this company, we have always had a wealth of knowledge, competencies, skills, information on the electrical system, which we were not able to make it generating financial value because of the input-based regulatory framework. The transition that the regulator is driving at the moment towards an output-based regulatory mechanism Instead, will allow us to unlock this value, as we demonstrated with the results that we obtained with the up-to-base incentive schemes, which I think we all agree are very positive. So, again, the last flexibility tool is working on the numerator, and I would say that it is the most important one. It's one of the biggest challenges that we have in the months, years I had.

So we don't have much time. Last question. Roberto, please.

Yes. Roberto Ranieri, thank you. From Stiefel, thank you for taking my question. Two questions, please. The first one is a follow-up on the renewable power developments, and there are some These are difficulties especially in terms of authorizations and 2023-2024 were positive in that way mainly on solar. but we have some problems with wind capacity development. So, inferix could be one of the trigger for this development. So, my question is, do you see Felix is suffering some difficulties in terms of procedures, mainly. So do you see this process, the authorization of Felix, and so the speeding up of authorization to come out in the short term In that way, so can you give us some idea when this could be completed in terms of procedures? My second question is on CAPEX plan. So the 70% of the, basically 70% of CAPEX plan is being developed will be developed in 2025, 2028, according to my calculations. And so I'm wondering why do you see this CapExplan to slow down, yearly CapExplan to slow down beyond 2028? Or do you see, anyway, or your approach is, As to the Felix's concern,

In mind that at Sterna we have been involved in the structuring of the Felix method. It is part of those activities that we do, and as a CFO I must say that we do it without being paid, but we do it because it helps us in positioning ourselves at the very heart of the electrical system in Italy. And then it also gives us more... Thank you very much. If you want, I can give you some more details on the Maxi mechanism for the storage systems, on which we have also been involved, and which will see its first auction starting the 30th of September 2025. We do believe that Deferix will realize an attractive business model for investors and developers in order to to even accelerate the growth that you were mentioning that we are experiencing in the renewable space, specifically helping and boosting the large-scale renewable energy generation plants, which will benefit from the Felix scheme. Thank you. As far as the CAPEX plan, as to the dynamic of the CAPEX plan, it is the same of the previous plan. And it is mainly related to the fact that in this plan we have the entrance into operation of the terrestrial link. which on its own, it is our flagship project, we talked a lot about it, and it's worth 3.7 billion euros. So it's entering into operation, it's spread over time, mainly most of it will enter into operation in 26 and 27, and a small part in 28. So this generates the peak in CAPEX that we see in the belly of the curve, basically. As to the future, I come back to what the CEO said. We can look at the National Development Plan. We have a sustainable amount of CAPEX in the ESI and we will manage it through prioritization. I'm sorry, I'm not able to... To spell this word, it was the same last year, I perfectly remember it. So please find me another word, Stefano, for next time. But the National Development Plan shows that we do have a consistent amount of CAPEX in the coming years, and we will have to deal with it, always taking into our mind the financial sustainability of the plan.

So we are out of time and the Q&A session is over now. The Investor Relations team is available for any follow-up questions you might have. Many thanks for your participation. Please choose.

Thank you and see you next time, next year hopefully.