How is Saipem doing. Facts, numbers and rumors
Saipem: the stock on the swing, the quarterly accounts, the capital increase, the organizational reorganization and the rumors about Caio (denied by Saipem but not by Eni and Cdp)
The turmoil in Saipem's house continues.
On the stock market today, Saipem stock, the energy infrastructure company controlled by Eni and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, fell by 6 per cent after yesterday's growth of 11.8 per cent. The increase was linked to the publication of the company's results in the first quarter of 2022, which indicate revenues of 1.94 billion euros (+20 percent on an annual basis) and EBITDA of 132 million (+80 percent). The net result is a loss, albeit an improvement: -98 million, against -120 million in March 2021.
On January 31, Saipem announced that its statutory financial statements for 2021 were expected to close with losses of more than one third of the share capital, with revenues and EBITDA less than 1 billion euros compared to the forecasts released earlier, on October 28.
THE JUDGMENT OF EQUITA
The analysts of the investment bank Equita said they appreciate, "after a complicated period", the confirmation of the guidance on 2022 announced by Saipem a month ago, maintaining the hold opinion on the stock "in relation to the dilutive effects linked to the increase in capital in addition to the uncertainties of the plan ".
THE QUARTERLY ACCOUNTS OF SAIPEM
In the first quarter of 2022, Saipem recorded a profit of 14 million euros, against a loss of 34 million in the same period of 2021. The net result shows a loss of 98 million. Net financial debt after IFRS-16, on the other hand, amounts to 1,251 million, an improvement (from 1,541 million as of December 31, 2021) thanks to the financial strengthening maneuver carried out by Eni and Cassa Depositi e Prestiti .
THE ORDERS
As for orders, in the first quarter of 2022 they were worth 2,356 million: the two most important segments were offshore E&C and offshore drilling . Saipem's residual order book is worth € 22,179 million.
THE IMPACT OF THE WAR
Saipem said it continues "to operate in full compliance with the provisions on international sanctions" towards Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. The company is involved in the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project on liquefied gas, developed by Novatek. Last month, the Reuters agency wrote that Italy had suspended its share of funding for the project ( here the insight from Startmag ).
In a note, Saipem makes it known that the backlog of projects in Russia amounts to 1,777 million euros.
THE FINANCIAL MANEUVER
Saipem announces that the capital strengthening maneuver "continues in line with the planned timing". As of March 31, 2022, Eni and CDP Industria, the two main shareholders, were reported to have paid 646 million euros into account for a future capital increase. On 4 April, instead, 680 million euro was disbursed from the liquidity facility signed with eight Italian ( such as Intesa Sanpaolo and UniCredit ) and foreign banks; Eni guaranteed it with 855 million.
THE ASSEMBLY OF MAY 17
The Extraordinary Shareholders' Meeting of Saipem will be held on 17 May. It will have to approve the reduction of the share capital by reducing the number of ordinary shares and will have to give the board of directors the power to increase the share capital by 2 billion euros.
THE DECLARATIONS OF CLEAN
Alessandro Puliti, the general manager of Saipem wanted by Eni as part of the organizational restructuring of the company (he was general manager of Eni's natural resources division), stated with "the price of raw materials, in particular oil and gas, which is pushing our customers to new orders, especially in the deep water drilling sector: the entire Saipem fleet is fully booked for the whole of 2022 ”.
As Repubblica writes, "all four lines of business reshaped yesterday, and the two financial directors" report to Puliti.
THE WIND FLOP?
The restructuring of Saipem, in addition to being organizational, also involves the business areas. In a note dated 25 March from Saipem, there was mention of a "new organization by business lines" which had the objective "of greater efficiency, centralized risk control and the development of innovative and flexible executive models, in in line with the needs of the energy transition ".
In short, it seems that Saipem's previous opening to sectors such as offshore wind, designed to adapt the company to the new context of ecological transition, will be downsized and that the focus will be brought back to traditional activities. The goal would seem to be to break away from more problematic contracts such as Neart na Gaoithe, a wind farm in the sea east of Scotland which the French EDF is co -owner, which would have caused Saipem losses of over 500 million euros.
THE QUESTION OF POWERS IN SAIPEM
It is also possible, however, that the failure of investments like this was also caused by the excess of proxies previously assigned to the management of the dedicated branch, as one would grumble on Saipem's board of directors. On this, however, as some observers point out, if there was too high a ceiling for the autonomy of the management – inheritance of a management shaped in the Eni era – why the current and past top management (Francesco Caio, the current CEO , he was also president of Saipem in the past) has he never made changes to lower that ceiling and pass more contracts and orders from the board of directors?
THE RUMORS ON CAIO
Finally, rumors are multiplying – collected in institutional and financial circles by Startmag – of a request by Cdp and Eni for Caio to renounce the substantial severance pay envisaged by the contract in the event of his forthcoming "push" exit from Saipem.
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Update:
“Saipem – he wrote to Startmag – denies the rumors about the CEO Caio”.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/saipem-conti-titoli-rumors/ on Fri, 22 Apr 2022 10:51:06 +0000.