Reclassified balance sheet⁶⁰

Fixed capital (€18,925 million) rose by €909 million compared with 31 December 2013, due mainly to an increase in equity investments (+€499 million) and in financial receivables held for operations (+€408 million).

Equity investments

Equity investments of €8,696 million break down as follows:

Acquisitions and subscriptions (€506 million) refer mainly to the acquisition of the stake in Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH (TAG), corresponding to 84.47% of the company’s share capital and 89.22% of the economic rights. The acquisition amount was paid as follows: (i) a capital increase excluding option rights pursuant to Article 2441, paragraph 4 of the Italian Civil Code, reserved for CDP GAS, at an issue price of €4.218, including the share premium, equal to the weighted average value of the official prices of Snam shares recorded in the 180 calendar days preceding the date on which the price was set (€502 million); and (ii) a cash amount equal to €3 million⁶¹. The book value of the equity investment at 31 December 2014 (€486 million) includes the negative change (−€19 million) arising from the difference between the issue price of Snam shares (€4.218 per share) and the fair value of Snam shares (€4.056 per share) on the transaction completion date (19 December 2014).

Net working capital fell by €60 million compared with 31 December 2013 to €69 million, owing mainly to: (i) the reduction in tax receivables (−€75 million) as a result of fewer receivables from subsidiaries for the national tax consolidation scheme (−€126 million) arising from the different dynamic in tax payments on account, partly offset by higher receivables from subsidiaries for group VAT (+€36 million); (ii) the reduction in other assets (−€38 million) owing mainly to the recharging to the income statement of prepayments relating to up-front fees and the substitute tax on the revolving credit lines (−€24 million), and the reduction in receivables from joint ventures for other income to be received (−€12 million); and (iii) the increase in other liabilities (−€37 million) owing primarily to payables to subsidiaries for VAT payments on account (−€34 million). These factors were partially offset by the reduction in tax payables (+€72 million) owing to the dynamic of payments on account.

Net financial debt stood at €12,090 million at 31 December 2014, up €401 million compared with 31 December 2013 (€11,689 million). The increase was due mainly to higher financial and bond debt (+€614 million), primarily as a result of the issue of new bonds (+€1,733 million) and the taking out of new term loans (+€1,000 million as a nominal amount), the effects of which were partly offset by early repayments of bilateral revolving credit lines (−€1,370 million) and term bank loans (−€701 million).

The increase in financial and bond debt was partly offset by the increase in financial receivables not held for operations (−€213 million) arising from the granting by Snam S.p.A. to Trans Austria Gasleitung GmbH (TAG) of a short-term revolving credit line (€216 million)⁶², as part of the contractual agreements relating to the purchase of the equity investment in TAG held by CDP GAS S.r.l.

Financial and bond debt, which totalled €13,940 million (compared with €13,326 million at 31 December 2013), was denominated entirely in euros, with the exception of a fixed-rate bond worth ¥10 billion, which was fully converted into euros using a hedging derivative cross-currency swap (CCS).

Financial liabilities at 31 December 2014 relate mainly to bonds (€10.6 billion, equal to 76.3%), bank loans (€2 billion, equivalent to 14.7%) and loan agreements concerning European Investment Bank (EIB) funding (€1.3 billion, equal to 9%)⁶³.

Short-term financial receivables (€1,848 million) relate mainly to loans granted to subsidiaries through the intragroup current account (€1,632 million).

Long-term financial debt (€11,884 million) represents around 85% of financial debt (around 83% at 31 December 2013).

The breakdown of debt by type of interest rate at 31 December 2014 is as follows:

Fixed-rate financial liabilities (€9,679 million) rose by €1,122 million after new bonds were issued.

Floating-rate debt (€4,261 million) fell by €508 million compared with 31 December 2013, owing essentially to the early repayment of bilateral revolving credit lines (−€1,370 million) and the repayment of two term loans that had reached their natural maturity (−€701 million). These effects were partly offset by new bank loans taken out (+€1,000 million) and new bond issues (+€645 million)⁶⁴.