Economic flow to shareholders and investors
[GRI - 201-1],
[GRI - 102-7],
For shareholders, at the Shareholders’ Meeting, the Board of Directors proposed the distribution of a dividend of € 0.85 per share (+6.3% on the € 0.80 in 2020), equivalent to € 180.6 million received (having been € 170 million in 2020), which correspond to a payout of 58% on net income, after allocations to third parties.
In 2021 Acea performed well on the Exchange with the share price increasing by 9.4%. The share price rose from € 17.15 at the begin- ning of 2021 to € 18.76 on 30 December 2021 (the last stock exchange session of the year) with a capitalisation of € 3,995 million.
The maximum value of € 21.30 was reached on 18 June, while the minimum value of € 16.12 was reached on 3 March. During the year, the daily average volumes traded were above 120,000 shares (compared to 165,000 in 2020).
Table no. 45 – Performance of stock exchange indexes and Acea shares (2021)
|
% change 31/12/2021 (vs 31/12/2020) |
|
|---|---|
| Acea | 9,40% |
| FTSE Italia All Share | 23,70% |
| FTSE Mib | 23,00% |
| FTSE Italia Mid Cap | 30,80% |
€ 97.4 million are allocated to financing stakeholders (compared to
€ 98 million in 2020). The average overall all-in cost of the Acea Group’s debt on 31/12/2020 was 1.42%.
Regarding the composition of medium/long-term debt consolidat- ed as at 31/12/2021, approximately 85% of the total amount derived from transactions on the capital market (corporate bonds). Regard- ing the banking sector, the Group mainly deals with entities whose mission is to finance strategic infrastructure, such as the European Investment Bank (EIB, 6.1% of the consolidated debt) and the Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP, 3.6% of the consolidated debt). These Institutions ensure loans, to entities with creditworthiness such as Acea, with a maturity of more than 10 years, in line with the dura- tion of the concessions (water and electricity) owned by Companies of the Group called to make the relevant investments.
THE FIRST ACEA GREEN BOND
In January 2021 Acea issued its first Green Bond against a total value of € 900 million as a development initiative towards greater integration of sustainable finance tools, in line with its industrial and sustainability plan 2020-2024, which is focused on achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.
The Green Financing Framework constitutes the basis of the Green Bond. The Framework was drawn up by Acea's Finance, Planning and Control and Sustainability Functions as a document for informing investors about the use of the proceeds raised for industrial projects that are significant in terms of sustainability. Green projects eligible for Green Bond financing are selected across four areas of activity that are consistent with the goals of the 2030 Agenda:
water resource management; energy efficiency; the circular econ- omy, green energy. The progress of investments and underlying projects will be monitored and reported on as a guarantee of the commitment made to lenders with the Acea Green Bond, which has now received ISS certification.
Acea's first green bond initiative has been very well received by the market, as is evident from the fact that the number of applications was 7 times higher than the offer; Acea obtained a price premium (greenium) compared to a traditional issue and, in the first case ever recorded for corporate issues among Italian listed companies, the bond has a negative yield for the 5-year tranche with a consequent reduction in the interest paid by Acea.