Ascopiave slips, brokers reject possible change at the top
In the meantime, the parent company Asco Holding postpones amendments to the articles of association. Instead, the ordinary shareholders' meeting procedure continues
by Cheo Condina
(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - The ballet on the governance of Ascopiave sends the stock into the red, which closes down 4.66% at Euro 3.685, after the downgrade sanctioned by analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux precisely in light of the "risk of a change in management, which could affect the credibility of the current industrial plan, just published a month ago". Last week, as is well known, Asco Holding - a vehicle controlled by dozens of municipalities in the Treviso area and Ascopiave's controlling shareholder - proposed a series of statutory changes to the multiutility, to be approved at an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to be held on 22 April before the ordinary meeting, which in turn is called upon to renew the board of the listed company. These include the fact that the chairman may not hold proxies and the incompatibility between the office of general manager and that of director: a way-out (or at least a strong downsizing) for Cecconato, who is chairman, CEO and managing director of the company, of which he has been the historical guide for nine years now.
A proposal that, as obvious, was bound to trigger the most disparate reactions. Thus not only that of Ascopiave's board of directors, but also that of some of Asco Holding's public shareholders (according to rumours quantifiable at between 10 and 15% of the capital), who over the weekend took a stance against what some insiders described as a veritable political blitz. From Asco Holding, however, it had been informally filtered that the proposed governance reform had no personal character towards Cecconato, but only the objective of rebalancing, regardless, an excessive concentration of power. It is a fact that in the end Asco Holding itself decided to lower the tone for the time being, and its board of directors decided to postpone convening an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to amend the articles of association, to be resubmitted when the situation is calmer. Instead, the process of the ordinary shareholders' meeting continues: Asco Holding will present the list for the renewal of the board of directors, from which Cecconato, who nevertheless has a permanent contract as general manager, will probably be excluded.
The market and analysts, at least today, do not like this. "The performance of the 2025 accounts confirms the creation of structural value, also thanks to the capital gain, dividends received and the sale of the stake in EstEnergy. (The joint venture with Hera on retail customers in the Veneto region) - Kepler points out - Following a solid performance of the share (+16% since the beginning of the year, +34% in the last 12 months), linked to the convincing strategy of the management and the acceleration of the growth rate in gas distribution, we have reduced our rating from Buy to Hold. We upgrade our target price based on the sum of the shares from EUR 4.1 to EUR 4.2, after applying a 5% discount due to the risk of a change in management, which could affect the credibility of the current business plan, just published a month ago'. Ascopiave, Kepler concludes, is trading at a discount of around 10% on its 2026/27 assets (mainly Rad, ed.), with an attractive dividend yield of around 5%.
