♦ The money obtained from the listing will go, mainly, to the acquisitions and developments regarding production plants from renewable sources.
During the initial public offering (IPO) carried out by the supplier of natural gas and electricity Premier Energy between May 8 and 15, an increased interest of international investors was observed, says Petr Stohr, CFO of the company, adding that in the listing offer at BVB including institutional investors from the United States of America.
“The listing offer also gives US institutional investors the chance to invest. There is a lot of interest from international investors. We did not look at potential bond issues. The objective was to grow the business and to continue to serve our customers and work on the IPO”, said Petr Stohr, present at a special edition of ZF Deschiderea de Atoje, where Jose Garza, CEO of the company, was also invited.
Premier Energy plans to raise up to 180 million euros from retail and institutional investors through a share capital increase, in an operation that may value the group at 2.8 billion lei (560 million euros). thus turning it into one of the largest companies listed on the BSE.
We will be what is called in financial circles a growth and dividend-paying stock. The dividend policy is initially to pay 30% of 70% of the consolidated net profit and we consider it attractive, says Petr Stohr.
The company, which is to debut on the Stock Exchange under the symbol PE, reported for 2023 consolidated revenues of 912 million euros (4.5 billion lei), compared to 1.1 billion euros in the previous year, and a net profit of 79 million euros (394 million lei), half of the previous year.
We believe that regulation (on energy market volatility (no)) is stable and the government has done a good job with the capping mechanism, which would be removed in March 2025. It would be a good situation if it continued, but it would be in line with If the European Union were to return to the free market, we are ready for either situation, adds Jose Garza.
In the IPO, the selling shareholder is EMMA Holding, whose main investor and shareholder is the Czech billionaire Jiri Smejc. He is the CEO of PPF, the largest investment fund in the region, which, among other assets, also owns Pro TV in Romania.
The money obtained will be used, mainly, to finance the acquisitions and developments regarding production plants from renewable sources, so wind and solar plants for the most part. We will also look at battery storage, used for the efficient production of renewable electricity, continues Petr Stohr.
Other statements during the show
Petr Stohr, CFO:
I have never seen so much volatility (on the energy market) as in the last five years. In May-June 2020 we had the lowest energy prices we have ever seen. Two years later, especially in the fall of 2022, the year had the highest prices. You have to be prepared for this kind of volatility, and we hope we won’t have such volatility again in the future.
We are vertically integrated, so there are various cash flows. As a distribution company, you are almost insulated from basic energy prices. Some of the production plants from renewable sources are less vulnerable. On the supply side, we tend to be a little more flexible. We know the volatility is there and we are prepared for it.
We completed about 20 acquisitions in the last five years alone (…) There is already an acquisition for which the money will be used. We are also currently working on several developments. There is a pipeline of M&A and development opportunities.
We are very optimistic about the Moldovan market, which is also growing. We believe that the geopolitical risks are not so different from other countries in central and eastern Europe.
Jose Garza, CEO:
We are a company that has grown very quickly in the last ten years, we have achieved significant operational synergies and closed more than 25 transactions during this period. We have a young management team and we see growth in Romania and in the region.
We want additional capital to accelerate growth. As our business becomes increasingly green, we may be able to issue green bonds at some point in the future.
BVB Arena is the program of the Bucharest Stock Exchange created to discover and promote successful Romanian entrepreneurial companies. The project, dedicated to Romanian entrepreneurs, was launched in 2017 and in its 6 editions gathered over 1,200 companies nominated in the program and 20 semi-finalist and finalist companies that used the tools provided by BVB. The total value of the 37 rounds of share financing and bond issues at the BVB carried out by the 20 companies exceeded the amount of 236 million euros.
The finalist companies in the Program have the opportunity to interact with other successful Romanian companies and to benefit from the mentoring program that provides them with useful information about the development of the business strategy and access to the necessary capital to take their company to the next level. Finally, they will be part of the BVB Arena and get the recognition they deserve.
Register your company on www.bvbarena.ro or recommend a local business you trust. BVB Arena. We train the Romanian capital.
Tags: special edition Todays opening Stock Exchange Petr Stohr CFO Premier Energy ..
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