CDP: Growth in net income to 2.5 billion in 2022 Investments of around 80 billion made

The Board of Directors of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti approved the draft separate financial statements and the consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2022

CDP SpA net income up to 2.5 billion euro (compared to 2.4 billion in 2021, which included higher gains on the sale of portfolio securities of 430 million)

Consolidated net income of 6.8 billion euro (5.3 billion in 2021), up also thanks to the results of some subsidiaries

Loans up to 120 billion euro (114 billion in 2021, +5%), mainly due to corporate financing.

Postal savings of 281 billion euro, stable at 2021 levels

Equity at 25.7 billion euro, up from the end of 2021 (+2%) due to the net income for the year

CDP Group resources deployed of 30.6 billion (23.8 billion in 2021, +28%), with an increased impact on Italy’s social and economic fabric

Investments growing to around 80 billion euro (35 billion in 2021, +126%), with a leverage effect of 2.6 times the resources deployed

Third Integrated Report approved, confirming growing commitment to creating economic, social and environmental value for the country

Rome, 30 March 2023 h.15:04 - The Board of Directors of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti S.p.A. (CDP), chaired by Giovanni Gorno Tempini, approved the draft separate financial statements and the consolidated financial statements at 31 December 2022¹ as well as the 2022 consolidated non-financial statement of the CDP Group included in the third Integrated sustainability report. The draft Financial Statements, presented by the Chief Executive Officer Dario Scannapieco, will be submitted for approval to the Shareholders’ Meeting, which will be called by the Board of Directors.

The Board also approved new operations benefiting enterprises, regions, infrastructure and international cooperation for a total value of around 2.5 billion euro.

Financial highlights and activities of 2022

In 2022, the CDP Group² began work on all three of the transformational pillars set out in the Strategic Plan: Financial instruments in support of Italy’s strategic sectors, advisory services and management of third-party funds and sectoral strategies and lending and investment policies.

With regard to the first pillar, in 2022 CDP SpA deployed 30.2 billion euro, while the CDP Group deployed 30.6 billion, an increase in both cases of 28% over 2021³ and with an increasing focus on high-impact lending for the country.

The resources deployed by CDP Group led to investments with a combined value of around 80 billion. Investments were up by 126% from 35 billion euro in 2021 thanks to the resources raised from third-party investors and co-lenders, with a leverage effect of 2.6 times the resources deployed in the year.

With regard to the second pillar, during the year the CDP Group increased its advisory and management activities for public, national and European funds, especially for the benefit of the Public Administration, to facilitate the use of resources and with a view to directing investments towards high-quality projects.

With regard to the third pillar, the CDP Group continued to gear its activities towards a greater impact on the economic and social fabric, implementing a policy-driven model in its lending and investment choices, strengthening the process of evaluating transactions and directing lending towards projects with high additionality.

On the asset side, loans stood at 120 billion, up from 114 billion in 2021 (+5%), mainly due to corporate financing.

On the funding side, postal savings stood at 281 billion, essentially stable compared to last year. With regard to other funding, the path towards fully sustainable activities continued through the issuance of the Sustainability Bond in the amount of 750 million euro, intended to promote green and social initiatives, and the finalisation of the first Sustainability-Linked Repo in the amount of 500 million euro for ESG-related investments.

The financial results of CDP SpA show net income rising to 2.5 billion euro, compared to 2.4 billion in 2021, which included higher gains on the sale of portfolio securities of 430 million.

Regarding the Group's financial results, the consolidated net income amounted to 6.8 billion euro (5.3 billion in 2021), also thanks to the results of some subsidiaries.

The Board of Directors also approved the CDP Group's third Integrated Report, which illustrates the non-financial results and impacts generated in 2022, confirming its growing commitment to creating economic, social and environmental value for the country.

CDP S.p.A.

Resources deployed: 30.2 billion euro (23.6 billion in 2021)

Net income: 2.5 billion euro (2.4 billion in 2021)

Loans and receivables: 120 billion euro (114 billion in 2021)

Postal savings: 281 billion euro (281.5 billion in 2021)

Equity: 25.7 billion euro (25.3 billion in 2021)

CDP Group

Resources deployed: 30.6 billion euro (23.8 billion in 2021)

Consolidated net income: 6.8 billion euro (5.3 billion in 2021)

Consolidated net income pertaining to the Parent Company CDP S.p.A.: 5.4 billion euro (3 billion in 2021)

Consolidated total assets: 478 billion euro (517 billion in 2021)

Consolidated equity: 39.7 billion euro (35.4 billion in 2021), of which 23.8 billion euro pertaining to the Group (21.2 billion in 2021)

For further details on the main achievements in 2022, see the section “The activities of the first year of the Strategic Plan and the operating and financial results”.

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The Chairman of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, Giovanni Gorno Tempini, commented:

“Once again Cassa Depositi e Prestiti confirmed its key role in the country’s sustainable development, with an unprecedented use of resources and contribution to growth. In a complex scenario, the CDP Group has intervened to meet the needs of the productive fabric and local authorities. Our contribution to Italian growth reached 1.7% of GDP, a value added generated by over 30 billion made available to enterprises, public administrations and infrastructure projects. These results were made possible by the solidity of postal funding and the ability to obtain financing on the market, including with ESG issues. Also fundamental, as always, is the trust of our shareholders, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance and the Banking Foundations, with whom we cooperate intensively in the interest of households and businesses”.

Dario Scannapieco, Cassa Depositi e Prestiti’s Chief Executive Officer and General Manager stated:

"The 2022 results demonstrate the CDP Group’s commitment to support the economy, in a landscape characterised by profound changes at international and national levels. With net income of 2.5 billion euro and investments made of around 80 billion euro, we have laid the foundation to exceed the targets of the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. These numbers are the result of the actions taken, the gradual emergence of our corporate culture and the work of our employees, carried out without ever losing sight of our long-term goals, especially the green and digital transitions. In order to respond more effectively to the needs of the country and its communities, in the past year CDP also undertook a transformation of its operations and thus once again was able to do its part, renewing itself while remaining faithful to its role as an institution serving the country”.

The activities of the first year of the Strategic Plan and the operating and financial results

CDP Group’s activities

With regard to the “Financial instruments in support of the Italy's strategic sectors” pillar, CDP SpA and its subsidiaries subject to management and coordination (the “CDP Group”) deployed resources totalling 30.6 billion euro, up from 23.8 billion in 2021 (+28%).⁴

During the same period, the CDP Group mobilised investments totalling around 80 billion euro, thanks to the resources raised from third-party investors and co-lenders, with a leverage effect of 2.6 times the resources deployed in the year.

The CDP Group's activities in this area were carried out through the following six lines of action: Lending to enterprises and support for international expansion, Public Administration, Infrastructure, International cooperation and development finance, Equity and Real Estate.

• With regard to Lending to enterprises and support for international expansion, resources amounting to 15.3 billion euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • the initiative to promote access to credit for small and medium-sized enterprises by signing a new agreement with MCC and EIF to increase CDP's commitment to the SME Guarantee Fund by 6.4 billion⁵;
  • the promotion of alternative financing channels to support Italian SMEs and mid-caps, with 70 transactions carried out through Basket Bond programmes in partnership with other financial institutions that led to issues amounting to a total of around 400 million euro.
     
• With regard to the Public Administration, resources amounting to 5.5 billion euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • the granting of 2.1 billion euro to regions for debt refinancing on more favourable terms⁶;
  • support to academic institutions for the redevelopment of research and teaching spaces through funding of more than 200 million euro.

• With regard to Infrastructure, resources amounting to 3.7 billion euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • support for the modernisation of the terminal at the port of La Spezia through the granting of a loan⁷ that will improve port accessibility and have a positive impact on employment and the environment;
  • a contribution to the construction and operation of two wind farms in Apulia through participation in a project finance operation with financing of 66 million euro.⁸
     
• With regard to International cooperation and development finance, resources of approximately 600 million euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • support for sustainable investments in Africa through 250 million euro in funding to Multilateral Financial Institutions and Public Development Banks⁹
  • support for the growth of companies operating in Africa and the Western Balkans through investment in two new funds¹⁰ for a total amount of around 50 million euro from CDP.
     
• With regard to Equity, resources of 5.3 billion euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • new investments to protect key assets in Italy and to foster the stabilisation and growth of enterprises in strategic sectors, including in the energy transition (including the investment in GreenIT) and digital transition (including investments in GPI, Maticmind and the Polo Strategico Nazionale) sectors;
  • support for the development of Private Equity, Venture Capital and sustainable infrastructure by intervening with specialised investment funds, including through crowding-in.
  • as a result of the divestments of equity investments made during the year, resources of more than 590 million euro were released, in application of the capital rotation principle.
• In the Real Estate sector, resources amounting to 132 million euro were deployed. The main activities included:
  • the release of more than 200 million in resources as a result of real estate disposals already completed or in the process of completion, in application of the capital rotation principle;
  • the construction of some 900 new social housing units for more than 2,400 beneficiaries through projects promoted by Fondo Investimenti per l’Abitare (FIA);

With regard to the “Advisory services and management of third-party funds” pillar, during the year the CDP Group further increased its support for the Public Administration, strengthening its advisory activities and the management of mandates on public funds. The main activities in this area included:

• support for the administrations in charge of PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) projects and signing of the agreement with the European Commission to become a partner in the Advisory Hub of the InvestEU programme;
• management of over 1.5 billion euro in resources on behalf of the PA¹¹ mainly related to projects included in the PNRR and in support of initiatives for International Cooperation & Development Finance.

With regard to the “Sectoral strategies and lending and investment policies" pillar, in 2022 the CDP Group continued to gear its activities towards achieving a greater impact on the economic and social fabric through new policy instruments and by strengthening its processes for evaluating operations. The main activities in this area included:

• the publication of ten sectoral strategic guidelines for each of the areas of action¹² envisaged in the Plan;
• the start of monitoring activities, as well as of the evaluation of strategic consistency and impact in keeping with the approach defined in the Plan;
• the publication of the General responsible lending and investment policies, the sectoral policies for the Energy and Defence and Security sectors, and the Diversity, Fairness and Inclusion policy;
• the launch of three Competence Centres specialised by topical area,¹³ also to support the technical-economic assessments of CDP operations.

Financial results

CDP SPA

In terms of income statement results, CDP SpA reported net income of 2.5 billion euro, up 0.1 billion euro from the previous financial year. Specifically:

• net interest income amounted to 1.7 billion euro, slightly down on 2021. The decline was mainly driven by the flattening of the yield curve, which impacted interest income from maturity transformation given the characteristics of CDP’s assets and liabilities;
• dividends of 1.6 billion euro, up with respect to 2021 mainly due to higher dividends from ENI and CDP Equity;
• other net revenues of 0.2 billion euro, down on 2021 due to lower income from interest rate risk management strategies implemented on the securities portfolio;
• cost of risk of -0.1 billion euro, an improvement compared to 2021 thanks to lower impairment adjustments made to the equity portfolio;
• the cost/income ratio remained significantly low, at 7%.

As regards the balance sheet, total assets amounted to 401 billion euro (-3% on 2021) and mainly included:

• Cash and cash equivalents and other treasury investments amounting to 167 billion, down from the figure recorded at the end of 2021, mainly due to the reduction in the stock of short-term lending and funding, implemented in particular in the second half of the year as part of asset-liability management given the new interest rate environment;
• loans amounting to 120 billion, up from 114 billion at the end of 2021 (+5%), mainly due to the volume of corporate financing, including through the indirect channel;
• debt securities, substantially stable on the year-end 2021 figure at 67 billion, with the maturities recorded during the year offset by purchases and government bonds received from the MEF in return for the transfer of the equity investment in SACE;
• equity investments and funds, amounting to 38 billion, in line with the year-end figure for 2021 as a result of investments in support of investee companies and investment funds, offset by disposals in application of the capital rotation principle.

Funding stood at 371 billion euro, down 3% from the figure recorded at the end of 2021. Specifically:

• postal funding remained substantially stable compared to the year-end figure for 2021 at 281 billion, showing the combined effect of negative net CDP funding over the year, amounting to -3.9 billion euro, and accrued interest income pertaining to postal savers;
• funding from banks and customers of 73 billion, down from the year-end figure for 2021 mainly due to the aforementioned decline in the stock of short-term funding and lending in the second half of the year;
• bond funding, equal to 17 billion, down compared to the previous year mainly due to bond maturities recorded over the year, which were only partially offset by new issues, and the decrease in commercial papers.

equity, amounting to 25.7 billion, up compared to the year-end figure for 2021 (+2%), driven by net income for the year that more than offset the impact of dividends distributed and the drop in valuation reserves for financial assets measured at fair value.

CDP Group                              

The CDP Group's consolidated financial statements also include companies over which the Parent Company does not exercise management and coordination (including major listed subsidiaries such as SNAM, Terna, Italgas and Fincantieri and associates such as ENI, Poste Italiane, Saipem, WeBuild and Nexi).

Including the entire scope of consolidated investees, consolidated net income came to 6.8 billion euro, compared to 5.3 billion euro in 2021, mainly thanks to the performance of ENI.

The net income pertaining to the Parent Company, and therefore excluding the results of minority interests, was 5.4 billion euro compared to 3 billion in the previous year.

Total consolidated assets totalled 478 billion, down 7.5% compared to 2021.

Consolidated equity totalled 39.7 billion euro, an increase of 4.3 billion euro compared to the previous year (35.4 billion).

Sustainability: CDP Group’s third Integrated Report approved

The Board of Directors also approved the CDP Group's third Integrated Report, which illustrates the non-financial results and impacts generated in 2022, confirming its growing commitment to creating economic, social and environmental value for the country.

For the first time, the resources deployed are classified according to the four challenges and ten areas of action of the 2022-2024 Strategic Plan (68% of the total), to the benefit of more than 47,000 enterprises (18,000 in 2021, +161%) and 1,300 public entities.

The resources deployed testify to the growing positive impacts generated on the economic fabric:

• 1.7% impact on GDP;
• approximately 62 billion euro of activated production value;
• approximately 470 thousand employees hired or maintained.

Indeed, in keeping with the four challenges of the Plan, the Integrated Report focuses on the Group's efforts to:

• promote inclusive and sustainable growth with resources of 1.8 billion through social housing measures involving 897 housing units and 2,415 beneficiaries; school building measures for 405 schools and health care building projects for 315 facilities. These are complemented by initiatives to revitalise Italy's cultural heritage, also thanks to CDP's role as manager of PNRR resources with four Cultural Funds benefiting 320 public entities;
• promote digitisation and innovation with 2.2 billion in resources: i) with the launch of three new high-tech funds and the financing of 965 million to benefit 37 companies; and ii) for the Group's working environment with 43.5% of ICT investments dedicated to innovation and digital transformation;
• combat climate change and protect the ecosystems with 4.3 billion in resources, including with energy transition projects for which 2.8 billion was allocated to 117 enterprises and 55 public bodies, and safeguard the territory with 17.6 million allocated to 44 municipalities to make the water network more efficient and support the circular economy;
• contribute 12.6 billion to rethink value chains, through initiatives involving:
  • strategic supply chains at a national level (more than 935 million for the growth plans of 34 enterprises) and an international level (more than 550 million for the international expansion of 17 enterprises and over 4,000 companies involved in the Business Matching platform), with the introduction of the first direct and indirect loans linked to sustainability objectives through the launch, for example, of the first ESG Basket Bond.
  • key transport and logistics hubs for the country, with more than 403 kilometres of upgraded and reinforced local public transport and urban roads, 7 ports modernised and made safe, and 14 million for cycling;
  • supply chains, increasingly sustainable with 94% local suppliers and 100% of new suppliers assessed using social criteria.

Finally, the document includes the progress of the main objectives of the ESG Plan, approved in June 2022 by the Board of Directors of Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.

The achievements presented in the Integrated Report are the result of the day-to-day work of the Group's more than 1,600 people, as well as of responsible management of financial resources and strengthened dialogue with stakeholders, which led to the organisation of the first edition of the Multistakeholder Forum and consultations on the Sectoral Strategic Guidelines and CDP's new Policies, with about 500 civil society representatives involved. Of particular note in 2022 was the commitment to people, both with training (over 62,000 hours of training, +13% v 2021) and in terms of promoting diversity, fairness and inclusion, with the approval of the first dedicated Policy, and 53% women among new executives.

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Please note that the Independent Auditors are completing the audit of the separate financial statements and the consolidated financial statements as at 31 December 2022. The reclassified consolidated financial statements set out in the Annex are not subject to auditing by the Independent Auditors.

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The Manager in charge with preparing the company's financial reports, Fabio Massoli, declares pursuant to Article 154-bis, paragraph 2, of the Consolidated Law on Finance that the accounting information contained in this press release corresponds to documentary evidence and the accounting books and records.

The 2022 Annual Financial Report, together with the certification pursuant to Article 154-bis, paragraph 5, of the Consolidated Law on Finance and the Independent Auditors and Board of Statutory Auditors’ Reports shall be available to the public at the Company’s registered office, on the CDP website and in any other manner provided for by the applicable law, within the legal time limits.