Relations with financial backers

The Group has relations with leading Italian and international credit institutions and has access to the capital market in order to research the most suitable forms of financing for its needs and the best market conditions, implementing a management model focused on the resources and financial risk management with the objective of financial optimisation for all of the companies of the Group.

The sustainability of the financial profile has always been a strategic elements for the Group. On 09 December 2021, the Standard & Poor’s agency assigned, for the first time to Iren Group, its long-term credit rating at the “BBB-“ level with a “positive“ outlook. The same rating is also given to senior unsecured debt. The “Investment Grade“ rating from a second agency, after Fitch, expresses the Group’s solid positioning in Italy, with a wide diversification of activities especially in regulated sectors and a significant territorial presence. The investments envisaged in the new Business Plan, primarily targeting organic growth and energy transition, combined with an expected continued improvement in credit metrics, support the “positive“ outlook. From a financial point of view, the rating level assigned also expresses the Group’s good liquidity profile. On the basis of these assumptions, and in particular with reference to the investments planned in the Business Plan in relation to the financial structure, on 22 December, the agency Fitch confirmed its “BBB“ rating for Iren with a “stable“ outlook. The business portfolio consisting mainly of regulated and semi-regulated activities, the value creation and the stability guaranteed by the integration of the various businesses are, together with the Group’s liquidity profile, elements considered positive by Fitch.

There were no instances of fines or penalties for failure to comply with the regulations and laws for financial backers.