Hera Group
Encyclopedia
Hera is a multiutility company based in Bologna
. Hera operates in the distribution of gas, water, energy, waste disposal in some provinces in Emilia-Romagna
.
Hera Group operates in the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara
, Forlì-Cesena, Imola-Faenza, Modena
, Ravenna
, Rimini
and Pesaro-Urbino, and in some municipalities of Florence
.
region, which involved 11 companies in the Emilia-Romagna
region; Hera Group is a national leader in the energy, water and environmental service management.
In 2003, Hera started the process to be listed on Milan Stock Exchange., which led the company to be partly privatized, with 38.8% of its present share capital in private sectors. After 2003, Hera started to grow. In over five years, the Group merged with other Italian companies operating in distribution of energy, water and gas, such as Agea, Ecosea, Meta, Geat Distribution Gas and Sat Inc.
Hera also had many successful long-term contracts with foreign suppliers through the following years. In 2006, Hera signed a memorandum of understanding with Enel
, Edison and Sonatrach
. The memorandum provided the purchase [by Hera] of one billion cubic meters a year of natural gas transported through the methane pipeline belonging to Galsi
, a partner company of Hera.
In July 2008 Hera acquired Megas Trade, selling gas and electricity to the Urbino
area, owned by Marche Multiservices. The transaction formalized the birth of Hera Comm Marche, the commercial branch of the Hera Group for the Marche
region, managed by Hera Comm.
of Hera Group, operating in electricity and gas market throughout Italy.
Hera Comm Mediterranea operates exclusively in southern Italy; Hera Comm Marche, located in Urbino
, is the commercial branch of the Hera Group in the Marche region and ownes an asset of more than 40,000 customers and 78 million cubic meters of gas sold.
The innovative way pursued by Hera makes the Group both a well structured company and an “open network”, allowing mergers with other new partners: that creates a successful business model even for other utility companies in Italy and abroad.
Multiutility Hera is an open business network, that welcomes new partners and assigns them a relevant role in the Company management, since they represent local operating structures, capable of understanding specific needs from the reference areas.
Strategies and activities are mainly carried out by the Holding
, which has a leading and coordinating role through its seven Divisions: Environment, Services, Sales and Marketing, Fluids Distribution, Large Plants Engineering and Electricity Distribution, and District Heating.
Hera Group is also well known for its Sustainability Report and for its in the Company's business. This Report contains figures for the three main business area and presents Hera social and environmental responsibility. The Sustainability Report is published every year and its data are released and positively reviewed by the public.
The Group’s main activities are: management of waste services (waste collection and disposal, waste-to-energy
and composting), water services (treatment, purification, sewerage) and energy services (distribution and sale of methane
gas and electricity, district heating).
Hera Group Ebitda composition (as at 31 December 2010):
Hera has the largest asset of waste treatment plants in Italy. The high percentage of separate waste collection and disposed in the reference areas makes the Group a major national operator in the field of environmental services:
Hera Group has a considerable presence in Italy in terms of water services:
Hera is a major national operator also in gas and electricity sectors:
The results in terms of EBITDA
and net profit achieved by the Hera Group since its establishment register a continuous growth over the years. Hera follows a dividend distribution policy that rewards Group shareholders; amongst all, the Municipalities, are the main beneficiaries of Hera’s dividend policy
.
Shareholders Base:
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
. Hera operates in the distribution of gas, water, energy, waste disposal in some provinces in Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
.
Hera Group operates in the provinces of Bologna, Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Forlì-Cesena, Imola-Faenza, Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Ravenna
Ravenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
, Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
and Pesaro-Urbino, and in some municipalities of Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
.
History
Established in 2002 by the first merger of public utilities in the Emilia-RomagnaEmilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
region, which involved 11 companies in the Emilia-Romagna
Emilia-Romagna
Emilia–Romagna is an administrative region of Northern Italy comprising the two historic regions of Emilia and Romagna. The capital is Bologna; it has an area of and about 4.4 million inhabitants....
region; Hera Group is a national leader in the energy, water and environmental service management.
In 2003, Hera started the process to be listed on Milan Stock Exchange., which led the company to be partly privatized, with 38.8% of its present share capital in private sectors. After 2003, Hera started to grow. In over five years, the Group merged with other Italian companies operating in distribution of energy, water and gas, such as Agea, Ecosea, Meta, Geat Distribution Gas and Sat Inc.
Hera also had many successful long-term contracts with foreign suppliers through the following years. In 2006, Hera signed a memorandum of understanding with Enel
Enel
Enel may refer to:*Enel SpA, an Italian electricity company*Enel , a fictional villain in the One Piece manga and anime series*Enel, meaning third in the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien, cf. Awakening of the Elves...
, Edison and Sonatrach
Sonatrach
Sonatrach is an Algerian government-owned company formed to exploit the hydrocarbon resources of the country. Its diversified activities cover all aspects of production: exploration, extraction, transport, and refining...
. The memorandum provided the purchase [by Hera] of one billion cubic meters a year of natural gas transported through the methane pipeline belonging to Galsi
Galsi
Galsi may refer to:* Galsi, Bardhaman, a town in West Bengal, India* GALSI, a planned Algeria-Sardinia-Italy natural gas pipe line...
, a partner company of Hera.
In July 2008 Hera acquired Megas Trade, selling gas and electricity to the Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
area, owned by Marche Multiservices. The transaction formalized the birth of Hera Comm Marche, the commercial branch of the Hera Group for the Marche
Marche
The population density in the region is below the national average. In 2008, it was 161.5 inhabitants per km2, compared to the national figure of 198.8. It is highest in the province of Ancona , and lowest in the province of Macerata...
region, managed by Hera Comm.
HERA COMM
Hera Comm is the trading companyTrading company
Trading companies are businesses working with different kinds of products which are sold for consumer, business or government purposes. Trading companies buy a specialized range of products, maintain a stock or a shop, and deliver products to customers....
of Hera Group, operating in electricity and gas market throughout Italy.
Hera Comm Mediterranea operates exclusively in southern Italy; Hera Comm Marche, located in Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
, is the commercial branch of the Hera Group in the Marche region and ownes an asset of more than 40,000 customers and 78 million cubic meters of gas sold.
Business overview
Hera Group has an original business model.The innovative way pursued by Hera makes the Group both a well structured company and an “open network”, allowing mergers with other new partners: that creates a successful business model even for other utility companies in Italy and abroad.
Multiutility Hera is an open business network, that welcomes new partners and assigns them a relevant role in the Company management, since they represent local operating structures, capable of understanding specific needs from the reference areas.
Strategies and activities are mainly carried out by the Holding
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
, which has a leading and coordinating role through its seven Divisions: Environment, Services, Sales and Marketing, Fluids Distribution, Large Plants Engineering and Electricity Distribution, and District Heating.
Hera Group is also well known for its Sustainability Report and for its in the Company's business. This Report contains figures for the three main business area and presents Hera social and environmental responsibility. The Sustainability Report is published every year and its data are released and positively reviewed by the public.
Current operations
The Hera Group operates in the public utility services sector, pursuing a sustainable management policy.The Group’s main activities are: management of waste services (waste collection and disposal, waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy
Waste-to-energy or energy-from-waste is the process of creating energy in the form of electricity or heat from the incineration of waste source. WtE is a form of energy recovery...
and composting), water services (treatment, purification, sewerage) and energy services (distribution and sale of methane
Methane
Methane is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest alkane, the principal component of natural gas, and probably the most abundant organic compound on earth. The relative abundance of methane makes it an attractive fuel...
gas and electricity, district heating).
Hera Group Ebitda composition (as at 31 December 2010):
- Waste Management (32.1%)
- Water (23.4%)
- Gas (31.9%)
- Electricity (9.8%)
- Other Services (2.7%)
Hera has the largest asset of waste treatment plants in Italy. The high percentage of separate waste collection and disposed in the reference areas makes the Group a major national operator in the field of environmental services:
- citizens served for waste: approx. 2.8 million;
- tonnes of waste treated: 5.7 million, 1.9 million of which urban waste;
- number of plants: 77.
Hera Group has a considerable presence in Italy in terms of water services:
- water customers: over 1.173.000;
- cubic metres of water sold: 251 million.
Hera is a major national operator also in gas and electricity sectors:
- gas customers: over 1.1 million;
- electricity customers: 383,000;
- cubic metres of gas sold: 2.9 billion;
- electricity sold (GWh): 7,744.
Company profile
Hera has a wide shareholding structure. The structure shows over 180 public institutions (about 61.3%), 369 professional investors (about 25.2%), and over 21,000 private shareholders (about 13.0%).The results in terms of EBITDA
EBITDA
EBITDA is an acronym for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is a non-GAAP metric that is measured exactly as stated. All interest, tax, depreciation and amortization entries in the income statement are reversed out from the bottom-line net income...
and net profit achieved by the Hera Group since its establishment register a continuous growth over the years. Hera follows a dividend distribution policy that rewards Group shareholders; amongst all, the Municipalities, are the main beneficiaries of Hera’s dividend policy
Dividend policy
Dividend policy is concerned with taking a decision regarding paying cash dividend in the present or paying an increased dividend at a later stage. The firm could also pay in the form of stock dividends which unlike cash dividends do not provide liquidity to the investors, however, it ensures...
.
Shareholders Base:
- Municipalities in the province of Bologna (18,8% owned)
- Municipalities in the province of Modena (13,2% owned)
- Municipalities in the province of Ferrara (3,3% owned)
- Municipalities in the province of Romagna (26% owned)
- Free Float (32,3% owned)
- Bank fundations (6,5% owned)