BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 8
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
Based on the current regulatory framework, the maximum impact of falling gas demand on Italy’s Snam is estimated at a reduction in revenue of around €9 million, related to the commodity component, Trend reports citing the company.
The report released by Snam shows that natural gas demand in Italy in the first quarter of the year stood at 23.94 billion cubic metres, a decrease of 6.7 percent (-1.71 billion cubic metres) compared with the same period of the previous year.
“In addition to the milder temperatures recorded in the first two months of the year, the fall relates to the effects of the lockdown measures from March onwards. A fall in demand for gas is also forecast for the second quarter of the year, with an impact that will be assessed according to the speed at which activities are resumed,” said the company.
As for COVID-19, at present, the company is not able to reliably calculate its impact on the targets for 2020 and future years.
However, on the basis of the most up-to-date information available, also considering the nature of the activities carried out by Snam, the company expects a limited impact on its economic targets and to the investment program, proportional to the speed of recovery of operations.
The company is continuing with the implementation of its efficiency program, which has already resulted in savings of €53 million compared to the 2016 cost base and will benefit from a further reduction in costs associated with the new operating procedures resulting from COVID-19.
The optimization of Snam’s financial structure over the last three years has led to a significant reduction in the average cost of debt and the risk management activities carried out also limit the risks of negative impacts of a worse market scenario on the Group’s financial management.
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