IR TOP RESEARCH BODY “GREEN ECONOMY on the capital markets”: in 2011 Italian revenues grew (+19%) and outperformed average European margin growth (+18%); 61% of institutional investors from overseas

IR  Top,  the Italian  company  specialised  in  Investor  Relations  Consultancy  and   Financial  Communication, presented  a  preview of the key  highlights of the “Green Economy on Capital  Markets  – 2012” Research Body  report, based  on  a sample of 114  Italian  and  European companies operating in  the Green sector. The study was presented within the “Green Investor Day”, organised by IR Top in Milan  at Palazzo  Mezzanotte in which  qualifying investors, principally Family  Offices, Investment  Funds  and  Private  Bankers, met with listed Green companies and sector experts.

The  event  was  carried out  in  colloboration  with  Borsa Italiana.  Intermonte  SIM  participated  as  the  main sponsor.  Partners   of  the  initiative  included:   Corporate   Family    Office  SIM,   Mergermarket,  UK   Trade  & Investment,  Biancamano,  Falck   Renewables,  Kinexia,  TerniEnergia  and   TerniGreen.  Technological  partner: Gruppo San Faustino.

The  principal themes  emerging during the meeting concerned development, governance systems, value  and costs of capital and investments in the Green sector.

“The European Green economy – stated Anna Lambiase,  Chief Executive  Officer of IR  Top – continued  on  its growth path also in 2011, both in terms of volumes (+23%)  and margins (+9%); Italy was confirmed as leader in Europe for margin growth of the listed Green companies sample (+18%),  generating employment growth of

3%  in  2010, with approx 7,000 employees. Italian  Green listed companies are more solid  and  profitable than

2010, with average revenues of Euro 112  million and an average EBITDA margin of 20%. The data highlights a strong outlook for development and  international expansion, a large number of international investors and  an

increase in “Green” technological  innovation across a number of good  sectors, in addition to a strong belief by institutional investors in the sectors  growth potential. Within this context our VedoGreen initiative responds to the substantial interest from the financial community in the Green industry, bringing together listed companies and investors, in addition to paving the way  for new sources of capital for non-listed companies.

Across the globe  numerous Green stock indices  have  been  created, in addition to the birth of specialised Green funds: this highlights the significant evolution of the Green industry within the capital markets, with hopes  also in  Italy for the creation of a Green FTSE index, with investors perceiving an  opportunity for increased growth over the coming decade.

High  development and  international expansion potential for this sector  is behind the significant involvement of institutional  investors acquiring stakes  in  such  companies – numbering 69  – principally from overseas (61%) and  for a total investment value  of Euro 118  million. The  most active foreign investors in  Italy are from the United  States  (13%) and  France (12%).  Among  the most active Italian  investors we  highlight Eurizon Capital, Sella  Gestioni, Banca  Monte dei Paschi di Siena  and  F2i Fondi  Italiani per le infrastrutture; among the overseas funds we highlight DFA, Bessemer Investment Management, Allianz  SE and Canada  Pension  Fund.

We drew up a sample of 50  GREEN non-listed Italian companies, selected  based  on their excellent results, the sustainability of their business model and  close  attention to transparency; a part of the Vedogreen initiative for the search for Investment Funds, in addition to other sources of capital, will  be dedicated to this sample”.

In relation to the opportunity to create  a Green index  for the small  and  mid  cap Italian and  UK companies the representatives of the listed companies stated the following:

“BIANCAMANO  – commented  Mr. Pier Paolo  Pizzimbone, Vice  Chairman of Biancamano – strongly favours the creation of a Green index  as it would  open  up  the possibility of attracting specialised funds for the sector and,  in  addition,  would   incentivise  teamwork  among  the  companies involved,  who   could   jointly  organise dedicated  road shows  under the auspices  of Borsa Italiana  (the Italian  Stock  Exchange). In addition we  could act  together in  relation to issues  such  as ethics, emission controls, energy saving  etc, which  – in  addition to other benefits – would  create greater efficiency and visibility.

Mr. Piero Manzoni, Chief Executive Officer of Falck Renewables stated: “Falck Renewables is focused on any system – financial and  industrial particularly – which   can  strengthen a  driven and  anti-cyclical sector  of the economy  which   will   remain  strong  and   sustained.   The   commitment  to  consider  all   renewable  energy, independent  of the technology  and  the renewable resource utilised, is the basis  to sustain  all  Green initiatives and our primary motivation.

This is as we believe in an increasingly sustainable future which  focuses on “environmental production”, without distinguishing between the technologies involved – wind, photovoltaic or hydro.

We  hope  that the birth of a  cluster, not just  green but that  which   can  be  defined also  as  environmental, provides the founding principle of a new  force and a new  cooperation which, in addition to the basis ideology, in itself creates an economic, financial, industrial, and  international development impetus and  is representative of all the vital environmental technologies necessary for the success of our sustainable vision of the world.

“I believe it is  most timely to create  a  small  and  mid  cap  Green index  –  commented  Mr. Pietro  Colucci  – Chairman and  Chief Executive  Officer of Kinexia – the sector  is growing globally as part of the fight against climate change  and  is becoming a concrete presence, not just in the environmental field, but particularly in the economic  and  social   fields, creating investment  in  sustainable  environmental infrastructure  and  generating therefore employment, economic growth and  value  for shareholders – and  with a  strong social  commitment also. The  need  to promote and  highlight to stakeholders  that which  has  been  achieved is central to redefining the vision of the entire sector  and  for this reason all  National  Industrial  Associations,  uniting with the Green sector companies, have  just  launched the General States of the Green Economy in Italy, in order to draw up a new  development strategy for a sector  which  has  been, and  will  continue  to be, a driver of development and has led  a shift in thinking within the industrial system towards a greener approach. A green index  would  allow Institutional  Investors,  both domestic  and  overseas, to identify and  support companies which  seek  from the markets  the  capital   necessary to  implement  their  industrial  projects   and   at  the  same   time  allow   those companies to become more visible to such investors”.

“The creation of a Green Index – commented Mr. Stefano Neri, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TerniEnergia and TerniGreen – will  increase the visibility of companies with high  environmental sustainability credentials  with investors. At the same  it will  undertake a guiding role in  the benchmarking of the companies and  of the sectors  which  are more committed to improve their services and  their technologies  and  who  are committed  to  develop  environmentally-friendly   products,  countering  the  increasing  attempts   by   many enterprises at greenwashing. With an instrument such  as a dedicated stock exchange index, already existing in China  and  in the USA and  in line  with the significant growth of the low-carbon economy, it will  be increasingly evident that environmental industrial activities have  changed from being  considered a burden to the productive process to being  perceived as a stimulus for innovation and increased competitivity”.

The “Green Economy on Capital Markets – 2012″ study, in its second  edition, analysed the 2011  results of, and the presence of institutional  investors in, 114  listed companies in  Italy and  on  the principal European indices (Denmark , Finland, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden  and the UK).

Companies in the Green sector and with a market capitalisation of under Euro 500 million were considered for the sample.