According to a statement from the company that owns most of Italy's gas pipelines, which presented the plan to the Milan financial community this morning, Ebitda is seen to rise by an average of 7 percent a year in the 2022-2026 period (4.5 percent in the previous plan) due to investments in the period, regulatory components, and the contribution of the energy transition businesses.

At the end of the plan, group Ebitda is expected to be around 2.85 billion.

Net income is expected to grow by an average of about 3 percent a year in the 2022-2026 period, even in the face of rising interest rates, the note points out.

Compared to the 2022 net income guidance of at least 1.13 billion, the projection to the end of 2026 is 1.27 billion, the note says.

On the stock market, investor reaction is negative -- in a session, however, of retracement for the Piazza Affari indexes -- with the shares giving up around 2.4 percent to 4.89 euros. According to JP Morgan, the plan targets "look satisfactory but are not strong." The broker is disappointed in particular with the profit targets, which are essentially unchanged, in contrast to its expectations of a greater benefit from Ebitda growth.

As for the dividend payout, the minimum growth of 2.5 percent provided for previous years has been extended to 2026, rises to 5 percent per share relative to the 2022 budget.

"Over the 2022-2026 plan period, we will increase investments significantly compared to the past, in order to strengthen our infrastructure and contribute to the country's greater energy security for the coming years and for the more distant horizon," thus commented, CEO Stefano Venier, on his first business plan.

Going into the details of investments, 9 billion euros are earmarked for gas infrastructure. Specifically, 6.3 billion will go on transportation (compared to 5.4 billion in the previous plan), including investments related to the upgrading of the Adriatic Line and the application of the new methodology for asset health assessment for network replacements; 1.3 billion for the expansion and renewal of storage sites (compared to 1.2 billion in the previous plan); and 1.4 billion earmarked for LNG, with a significant increase attributable to the purchase of the two floating regasifiers and related infrastructure investments.

Investments in energy transition businesses amount to 1 billion.

In the meeting with analysts, Venier stressed that the plan does not include acquisitions and there are none on the table. However, should Edison decide to divest the storage business, Snam would look closely at this asset. As for possible divestments, Snam's number one does not rule out divesting part of the stake held in Italgas or Industrie De Nora in the future.

Rab (the value of investments for regulatory purposes) is seen growing at more than 5 percent per year on average in 2022-2026 (higher than 2.5 percent in the previous plan).

Finally, over the plan period, Snam forecasts debt at around 18 billion euros in 2026.

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(Giancarlo Navach, editing Stefano Bernabei, Claudia Cristoferi)