Elia Group SA (ELIAF) Q4 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

2025-03-07 14:59:05 ET

Elia Group SA (ELIAF)

Q4 2024 Results Conference Call

March 07, 2025 04:00 AM ET

Company Participants

Marleen Vanhecke - Head, Group Communication & Reputation

Bernard Gustin - Chief Executive Officer

Marco Nix - Chief Financial Officer Ad Interim

Frederic Dunon - CEO Elia Transmission Belgium

Stefan Kapferer - CEO 50Hertz

Stephanie Luyten - Head of Investor Relations

Catherine Vandenborre - Chief Financial Officer

Conference Call Participants

Temitope Sulaiman - Barclays

Wierzbicka Serwinowska - UBS

Alberto de Antonio Gardeta - Exane BNP

Wim Hoste - KBC

Bartlomiej Kubicki - Bernstein

Harrison Williams - Morgan Stanley

Juan Rodriguez - Kepler-Chevreux

Julius Nickelsen - BofA Securities

Piotr Dzieciolowski - Citigroup

Olly Jeffery - Deutsche Bank

Thijs Berkelder - ABN AMRO Oddo

Presentation

Marleen Vanhecke

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to this live stream event that is being broadcast from our headquarters in Brussels. Over the next hour or so, we will cover Elia Group's 2024 full year results. And for this, I have been joined by the CEO and the CFO, Bernard Gustin and Marco Nix. Welcome.

What's on the agenda? First, Bernard Gustin will provide us with an update about some of our ongoing projects. We'll also look back at the most important achievements from 2024. Marco Nix will then take us through the financial results and the outlook for the rest of this year.

Before we can continue, you must take note of the disclaimer, which is on screen now. The slides and the script will be made available on our website later today.

Let's begin with breaking news this morning. Elia Group announced a €2.2 billion equity package, which includes secured agreements to raise €850 million through a private placement of new shares to a specific group of investors. The private placement, or PIPE, involves Atlas Infrastructure together with The Future Funds, BlackRock, CPP Investments and Elia Group's reference shareholder, Publi-T, Next Grid Holding. The close of the PIPE is due to be promptly followed by a rights issue, which will form the second part of the equity package.

Bernard, Elia Group is welcoming 3 cornerstone investors to contribute to the growth of the group. I think this is fantastic news, isn't it?

Bernard Gustin

Indeed. We are really pleased to announce that we are welcoming high-quality investors who carry a lot of sector expertise. Their commitment shows that they have confidence in our vision, in our equity story and our long-term growth potential.

Their support reinforces our ability to execute our investment plan. It will enable us to continue playing a leading role in Europe's energy transition. So today's announcements will allow us to continue investing in infrastructure and driving our growth strategy forward. That means the news is both good for Elia Group, but also for the societies that we serve.

Marleen Vanhecke

Yes. Before diving into the details, let us introduce the partners and also the percentage that they are representing.

Bernard Gustin

Our reference shareholder, Publi-T, NextGrid, will subscribe to €380 million, maintaining its 44.8% ownership through a pro rata investment. The Australian infrastructure fund, Atlas Infrastructure, with The Future Fund, an Australian sovereign fund, will subscribe to €235 million. This represents 27.6% of the PIPE.

BlackRock, an American multinational investment company, will subscribe to €117.3 million. An equal amount will be invested by CPP Investment in Canadian pension funds. They both represent 13.8%. It is important to highlight that this transaction allows us to raise equity in the most efficient way possible. Unlike traditional equity raises, this deal was structured without any discount to VWAP until, ultimately, this deal benefits all shareholders. Along with today's transaction, I believe Elia Group now has a very solid and diversified core shareholder base in place that will support our future growth.

Marleen Vanhecke

Yes. Today's private placement is only the first step of a broader equity package. Let's go through it step by step. Bernard, what is due to happen next?

Bernard Gustin

Yes. Indeed, Marleen. We kickstart the equity funding process now through a PIPE, private placement, of €850 million, followed by a rights issue of €1.35 billion to be executed promptly following the PIPE transaction. So in total, we intend to raise €2.2 billion. And in this regard, it's important to mention that our reference shareholder, Publi-T, NextGrid, and our 3 investors have also committed to participating in the €1.35 billion rights issue pro rata to their stake following the PIPE.

So this leads to rights issue being in excess of 55% committed and, therefore, significantly derisking the rights issue transaction. Overall, the breadth of investor engagement and the strength of investor interest in the PIPE process make us highly confident in the delivery of the proposed equity package....

Read the full article on Seeking Alpha

For further details see: