How is Ansaldo Energia doing?
Ansaldo Energia anticipates heavy cuts in working hours in 2023. All the company's difficulties, results and scenarios (recapitalization of Cdp?)
Ansaldo Energia, an energy plant company controlled by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, informed the unions of a possible reduction in working hours in the first and second quarter of 2023. The estimated cut will be 45 thousand hours, 20 percent of the total. in each of the two periods considered. In the second half of next year, then, the reduction could be even greater, reaching 100 thousand hours, with a "discharge" – reports Il Secolo XIX – of 50 percent of the total hours. The company has 2400 employees.
THE CRISIS OF RAW MATERIALS AND COAL POWER PLANTS
The cause of this adaptation is the lack of orders: the crisis in the prices of energy and raw materials that has led to the suspension of investments in gas capacity in the world has to do with it.
In Italy, for example, Ansaldo should have dealt with the conversion to gas of three Enel coal-fired plants – those of Brindisi, Civitavecchia and La Casella -, but the works have stopped: to protect energy security given the difficulties in supplying gas, these plants will have to continue to burn coal .
WRITE-DOWN
Today Ansaldo Energia's board of directors will meet to approve the half-year report and should – according to the 19th century – define extraordinary measures in response to the worsening of the accounts. Anonymous sources told the newspaper that the company will write down some intangible capitalizations (investments in products), linked in particular to its "Swiss activities".
THE RESULTS OF 2021
Ansaldo Energia, under the leadership of CEO Giuseppe Marino, had operated in a similar way in 2020, when it proceeded with write-downs of 250 million euros. 2021 was, for the company, the year of return to profit after two years of loss (and a complicated process of renegotiating the debt: 430 million).
In 2021 Ansaldo Energia recorded a profit of 32 million, revenues of 1.4 billion (+37 percent), EBITDA of 160 million and net financial debt of 855 million (-4.6 percent).
RECAPITALIZATION OF CDP IN SIGHT?
According to Secolo XIX , Cassa Depositi e Prestiti could proceed with a recapitalization of Ansaldo Energia, perhaps worth 400 million euros.
THE CURRENT SITUATION
The invasion of Ukraine, the Russian policy of limiting gas supplies to Europe and the consequent increase in fuel prices have caused a sharp slowdown in investments in gas generation (the raw material is scarce and expensive). For Ansaldo Energia this means fewer turbine orders.
HYDROGEN AND NUCLEAR
In reality, even before the war, the energy transition towards low-emission sources had led the company to change its business model and to focus on hydrogen (this is obtained not only from renewable electricity, but also from gas methane). Ansaldo Energia participates in the European Hy2Tech project for the development of an industrial-technological chain for this fuel (electrolysers, fuel cells, storage and distribution systems for the element).
The company is trying to adapt to the decarbonisation context also through its subsidiaries Ansaldo Nucleare and Ansaldo Green Tech.
THE SITUATION BETWEEN ANSALDO AND THE TRADE UNIONS
During the June meeting between Ansaldo Energia's top management and the trade unions, the company's management spoke of complications on the gas market due to the energy transition, the war and the rise in the price of raw materials. Furthermore, the political and social situations in some reference countries such as Iran and Libya are uncertain. However, Ansaldo communicated its participation – through Ansaldo Green Tech – in all tenders for renewable energy projects financed through the PNRR.
The FIOM-CGIL, also with reference to the probable cut in working hours in 2023, defined the report "not a cry for alarm, but a situation that causes no small concern, especially in perspective".
THE LOST RACES
However, Ansaldo Energia lost some races in Italy. For example, the one for the Ostiglia gas plant (owned by EP Produzione) was awarded by the engineering company Fata of the Danieli group, which uses Siemens machinery.
Fata would also be favored over Ansaldo in the tender for the modernization of the thermoelectric plant in Monfalcone, managed by A2A.
DOES FATA REMOVE QUALIFIED EMPLOYEES IN ANSALDO?
In recent years – Luigi Pereira pointed out in Startmag – Fata has stolen a dozen employees from Ansaldo Energia, acquiring resources with technical and commercial skills.
Ansaldo Energia responded by hiring a former Siemens Energy sales manager, Marco Lovisolo , who became senior vice president of the Sales & Marketing unit in June.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/ansaldo-energia-riduzione-ore-lavoro-2023/ on Mon, 01 Aug 2022 10:03:22 +0000.