Corporate Credit Rating 2025 for NWG ENERGIA SPA SOCIETÀ BENEFIT: A3- (Affirm)

modefinance published the Solicited Corporate Credit Rating of NWG ENERGIA S.P.A. SOCIETÀ BENEFIT on the website and the rating assigned to the entity is A3- (Affirm). The analysis revealed that the Company's has a strong capacity to fulfill its financial obligations.

NWG ENERGIA S.P.A. SOCIETA’ BENEFIT (hereinafter the “Company” or “NWG Energia”) has been active since 2014 in the trading of electricity from renewable sources. Its energy mix is 69% wind and 31% solar, all produced in Italy and certified through the Guarantees of Origin system. The Company became a benefit corporation in 2016 and obtained B Corp certification, which attests to its compliance with high environmental, social, and transparency standards. Since 2022, it has also published its Sustainability Report, certified by KPMG. The Company operates both as an electricity reseller and as a Dispatching User, covering approximately 57% of its energy needs through direct purchases on the electricity market. As of December 2024, the commercial development carried out by its affiliate, NWG ITALIA S.P.A. SB, supported the Company’s accelerated growth in its customer portfolio, which exceeded 112,000 PODs, representing an 18% increase compared to the previous year. In 2024, the Company’s churn rate remained in line with the sector median reported by ARERA, although it showed a slight increase in the second half of the year compared to the first half.

The 21% increase in traded volumes (361.5 GWh) and the optimization of procurement, driven by greater reliance on direct purchases on the GME (203.7 GWh, +49% YoY), drove NWG ENERGIA’s revenue growth to €135.3 million (+30% YoY). These drivers enabled the Company to significantly improve both net operating margin (€16.9 million) and net income (€12 million), reaching profitability levels well above historical levels. In 2024, NWG ENERGIA further strengthened its financial position, reducing leverage from 2.55x to 1.36x and increasing shareholders’ equity to €19.7 million (+83% YoY). Gross financial debt decreased to €0.6 million, while the Net Financial Position turned cash positive at €6.9 million, supported by high levels of liquidity. As a result, the Company maintained an adequate level of net current assets, as confirmed by a current ratio of 1.8x.

In 2024, NWG ENERGIA recorded an increase in cash and cash equivalents from €6.5 million to €7.5 million, driven by strong operating cash flows sustained by customer base growth, revised sales conditions, and procurement optimization. This robust cash generation not only covered working capital requirements (€2.5 million) and outflows related to contract acquisitions (€6.6 million), loan repayments (€6.1 million), and dividend distribution (€3.1 million), but also generated a €1.0 million increase in cash, which balance to €7.5 million at December 2024.

NWG ENERGIA has a duly constituted collegial administrative body, whose activities are subject to the supervision of the Board of Statutory Auditors. The statutory audit of the financial statements and the certification of the sustainability report are entrusted to leading specialized firms. In 2022, following the adoption of the Organizational Model pursuant to Legislative Decree 231/2001, the Supervisory Body was appointed. The ownership of NWG ENERGIA S.P.A. is primarily held by Mr. Francesco D’Antini and Mr. Antonio Rainone, who together control approximately 60% through the vehicles CAPITAL HOLDING S.R.L. and FA.RA. HOLDING S.R.L.. Since 2019, following the exit of a shareholder, the Company has held 20% of its share capital in the form of treasury shares.

In terms of scale, the Company ranks among the most significant players in its sector, driven by a 30% year-on-year increase in sales revenues, supported by higher traded volumes and revised customer tariffs. With regard to solvency and profitability, the economic performance achieved and the resulting strengthening of the company’s equity have enabled NWG ENERGIA to reach a solid position, placing it above the industry median.

In 2024, energy prices in Italy stabilized due to the expansion of renewable sources, reduced consumption, and favorable weather conditions. However, prices remained above pre-crisis levels, driven by continued reliance on fossil fuels. Renewable sources accounted for approximately 50% of electricity generation and are expected to be supported in the future by new investments by Terna and the launch of MACSE, aimed at incentivizing storage systems. At the European level, LNG accounted for 38% of gas imports, effectively offsetting the decline in Russian supplies. As of the end of April 2025, gas storage stood at 47%, with 90% of capacity already allocated for the 2025/26 season, thus ensuring energy security.

In the first quarter of 2025, the Italian economy recorded moderate growth, supported by household consumption underpinned by a stable labor market and rising real incomes. Investment remained weak, constrained by underutilized production capacity and tight financial conditions. Growth was driven by the services sector and construction projects linked to the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), while manufacturing showed signs of recovery but remained vulnerable to rising tariffs and geopolitical uncertainty. The Bank of Italy forecasts GDP growth of 0.6% in 2025, followed by 0.8% in 2026 and 0.7% in 2027.

The present rating is solicited and is based on both private and public information. The rated entity and/or related third parties have provided all private information used. modefinance had access to some accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity and/or related third parties. Solicited and unsolicited ratings issued by modefinance are of comparable quality, as the solicitation status has no effect on methodologies used. More comprehensive information on modefinance Corporate Credit Ratings are available at: http://cra.modefinance.com/en

The present Corporate Credit Rating is issued on MORE Methodology 2.0 and Rating Methodology 1.0. A comprehensive description of both methodologies, as well as information on modefinance Rating Scale and Mappings, is available at http://cra.modefinance.com/en/methodologies.

For information on historical default rates of modefinance Corporate Credit Ratings please refer to ESMA Central Repository: https://registers.esma.europa.eu/cerep-publication/ and ESMA European Rating Platform https://registers.esma.europa.eu/publication/searchRegister?core=esma_registers_radar.

modefinance refers to default as a company under bankruptcy, or under liquidation status, or under administration or for which missed payments on a financial obligation are officially recorded.

The quality of the information available on the rated entity and used to determine the present rating was judged by modefinance as satisfactory. Please note that modefinance does not perform any audit activity and is not in a position to guarantee the accuracy of any information used and/or reported in the present document. As such, modefinance can accept no liability whatsoever for actions taken based on any information that may subsequently prove to be incorrect.

The present credit rating was notified to the rated entity in order to identify potential factual errors, as prescribed by the CRA Regulation.

No amendments were applied after the notification process.

The rated entity is not a buyer of ancillary services provided by modefinance.

The rating action issued by modefinance was performed independently. The analysts, members of the rating team involved in the process, modefinance Srl and its members and shareholders do not have any conflicts of interest in relation to the Rated Entity and/or Related Third Parties. If in the future a potential conflict of interest is identified in relation to the persons reported above, modefinance Ratings will provide the appropriate information and if necessary the rating will be withdrawn.

The present Credit Rating is an opinion of the general creditworthiness that modefinance issues on the rated entity, and should be relied upon to a limited degree. The issued rating is subject to an ongoing monitoring until withdrawal.

Head Analyst - Carmela Santomarco, Rating Analyst
carmela.santomarco@modefinance.com

Responsible for Rating Approval - Pinar Dilek, Rating Process Manager
pinar.dilek@modefinance.com