(Reuters) – Italian regional utility Hera aims to invest 5.1 billion euros ($5.30 billion) over the coming four years to develop resilient industrial assets in the face of market volatility and extreme weather events, it said on Thursday.
Roughly 3 billion euros of the planned investments in its business plan to the end of 2028 will be dedicated to green transition while 300 million euros will be set aside for mergers and acquisitions.
The group, which sells gas, electricity and water to the Italian market, also said it expects annual core profit to reach 1.7 billion euros by the end of the period, up roughly 14% from 2023.
Hera’s statement also flagged preliminary results for last year, estimating earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) above 1.55 billion euros.
The company said it aims to increase dividends by 21% to 17 cents per share over the course of the plan, having forecast a payout of 15 cents on 2024 results.
($1 = 0.9619 euros)
(Reporting by Enrico Sciacovelli and Michela Stasio; Editing Jason Neely and David Goodman)
