Building a low carbon future together: this is the essence of the values that Edison’s new brand embodies. Edison’s new vision and new mission put it in step with the dramatic changes in the energy sector and its new business positioning, in which customers are central and sustainability is integrated into the business as a value creation lever through an approach of constructive dialogue with stakeholders.
It is Edison’s job to put its ability to innovate and its expertise at its customers’ disposal, supporting their day-to-day activities and needs, building smart energy solutions that amplify the benefits attained through the rational and sustainable use of energy and by making the most of raw materials, the environment and the areas in which they operate.
Indeed, Edison aims to become a leading operator in the Italian energy sector, playing an active role in the consolidation of the retail market and energy efficiency. Through Fenice, which it acquired in 2016, Edison plans to develop its business not only through the sale of electricity and natural gas to customers, but also through energy and environmental services, beginning with large industrial companies, until it has progressively covered all market segments. Furthermore, it is firmly committed to increasing its customer base - it currently serves more than 1 million in Italy - threefold over the next few years, through internal growth and acquisitions.
The new business model is aimed at creating long-term value for all stakeholder categories by achieving objectives related to profitability and growth, efficiency, operating excellence and business risk prevention, protecting the environment and helping the communities where Edison operates, safeguarding people’s health and safety, respecting human rights and upholding ethical principles and transparency. As a key player in the energy sector, Edison carefully considers the impacts it generates, aware of its role in supporting the country’s energy economy.
| VALUE ADDED | ||||
| 2015 | 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In millions of euros |
% | In millions of euros |
% | |
| Economic value generated by the Group | 12,466 | 100.00 | 11,441 | 100.00 |
| Total revenue | 12,117 | 97.20 | 11,266 | 98.47 |
| Financial income | 349 | 2.80 | 175 | 1.53 |
| Economic value distributed by the Group | 11,194 | 89.80 | 11,022 | 96.34 |
| Operating costs | 10,303 | 82.65 | 10,399 | 90.89 |
| Remuneration of workers | 232 | 1.86 | 295 | 2.58 |
| Remuneration of lenders and shareholders | 416 | 3.34 | 262 | 2.29 |
| Remuneration of the public administration | 240 | 1.93 | 63 | 0.55 |
| Donations and sponsorships | 3 | 0.02 | 3 | 0.03 |
| Economic value retained by the Group | 1,272 | 10.20 | 419 | 3.66 |
| Amortisation, depreciation and impairment losses | 2,194 | 17.60 | 734 | 6.42 |
| Provisions and allowances | -922 | -7.40 | -315 | -2.75 |
Group revenue for 2016 totals €11,034 million, down 2.5% on the previous year. Results were affected by the performance of electricity revenue, which fell from €6,529 million in 2015 to €5,682 million in 2016 as a result of the drop in average sale prices mentioned earlier and the impact of lower sales to customers (-32% on 2015). Revenue from hydrocarbon operations increased 9.4% to €6,031 million (€5,512 million in 2015) thanks to the growth in volumes sold, which more than offset the drop in sale prices resulting from oil price trends.
The gross operating profit amounts to €653 million, down €608 million on the €1,261 million of 2015, when it benefited from the one-off impact of natural gas renegotiations.
Reference should be made to the directors’ report published on the company’s website for additional details and, in particular, for a more detailed analysis of the performance of the individual operating units.
| HIGHLIGHTS (IN MILLIONS OF EUROS) | |||
| 2016 | 2015 | Change % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | 11,034 | 11,313 | -2.5 |
| Gross operating profit | 653 | 1,261 | -48.2 |
| Operating loss | -260 | -795 | 67.3 |
| Loss for the year attributable to the owners of the parent |
-389 | -980 | 60.3 |
The Research, Development & Innovation (RD&I) Department operates according to changes on the energy market, working with the Group’s business units and keeping an emphasis on environmental sustainability, which has always been a crucial aspect of all the issues it has developed.
In 2016, projects continued to develop energy efficiency solutions and consumers’ awareness of how to use energy correctly, along with studies on how to reduce the environmental impact of industrial activities.
Key examples of Edison’s research activities are studies and testing on energy storage technologies, not only in relation to the growing presence of renewable sources in the national energy generation mix, but also locally in connection with small photovoltaic plants. Activities were also carried out to develop advanced energy efficiency solutions and not only in residential settings.
Moreover, a transversal work group covering various business areas has pursued the objective of exploring the technical and economic aspects of energy storage systems and prepared proposals for pilot projects to identify the most interesting applications for Edison in the short and medium term. In the second half of November, a proposal was approved to trial the various uses of energy storage systems. The selected applications will be implemented and tested in 2017 and 2018.
To meet the challenges of a dramatically and rapidly evolving technological and market context, Edison has significantly ramped up projects to increase digitalisation and, accordingly, implement data analytics techniques.
With these rapid changes underway, Edison has taken a host of actions to speed up the product and process innovation process and make it a structural part of its organisation. These actions include the Innovation Lab, which in 2016 entailed a series of big data and machine learning initiatives.