High-potential SMEs

EGM under the microscope: renewable energy projects drive Ecosuntek’s profits

In the first half of 2026, profits were up 27.9 per cent for the company, which operates across the entire renewable energy value chain. Revenue stood at 806 million euros (+33.4 per cent)

 REUTERS

6' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

6' min read

Translated by AI
Versione italiana

It may seem all too easy. Given current energy prices, it is hardly surprising that Ecosuntek posted impressive results in the first half of 2026, as the group operates across the entire value chain of renewable energy (generation, distribution and trading, and sales to end customers).

The figures

In fact, as at 30 June 2026, Ecosuntek reported a 33.4 per cent surge in revenue to 806.1 million, of which as much as 803 million came from its electricity and gas reselling/trading activities. In particular, the subsidiaries Eco Trade Srl (electricity trading) and Eco Sviluppo Srl (gas trading) saw their production value rise from 190 to 232 million (+22.1%) and from 355 to 505 million (+42.3%), whilst the performance of +Energia (sale of electricity and gas to end customers in the liberalised market) was also decidedly positive (+21.4% to 67 million).

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It goes without saying that, as these are ‘scalable’ activities (i.e. where costs – with the obvious exception of raw materials – do not rise in proportion to revenue), profit margins have increased even more significantly. EBITDA thus reached 10.7 million (+32.9 per cent), EBIT 9.1 million (+36.7 per cent) and net profit 1.4 million (+27.9 per cent). It should be noted here that the parent company’s stake in its subsidiaries is not generally 100 per cent; in particular, it stands at 51 per cent for Eco Trade Srl, which in turn wholly owns Eco Sviluppo Srl and +Energia; consequently, in the first half of 2026, the share of profit attributable to minority interests jumped by 68.9 per cent to 3.8 million. Naturally, given that this relates to trading activities (in this case, energy trading), the profit margin as a percentage of turnover remains low.

Thanks to its operating cash flow, Ecosuntek had net cash of 31.7 million at the end of June 2026, compared with 16.5 million at the end of 2025. However, whilst renewable energy remains the group’s core business, it is also necessary to strengthen its non-commercial activities, and numerous initiatives are currently underway.

Work has been completed on the construction of a ground-mounted photovoltaic plant with a total capacity of 37.16 MW, located in the port area of the Municipality of Ravenna, with an expected annual output of approximately 53 GWh, intended primarily to supply power to cruise ships moored at the quays of Porto Corsini; as for the surplus generation, which is fed into the grid and dispatched by Eco Trade Srl, the Energy Services Operator will pay a feed-in tariff for 20 years, and the initiative benefits from a non-repayable grant of 7.6 million under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) as part of the ‘Green Ports’ project. Eco Trade Srl holds a 51 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle Adriasol Srl, which owns the plant; the remaining 49 per cent is held by Renco, a general contractor in the energy plant engineering sector.

Subsequently, the subsidiary Enrit Agri 1 Srl secured a loan of 38.25 million for the construction in Calabria of six innovative agrivoltaic plants with a total capacity of 29 Mwp, located mainly in the province of Cosenza and also funded under the PNRR; they are expected to generate around 50.7 Gwh per year once fully operational. Ecosuntek plans to launch a second phase of projects in Calabria in 2027, adding a further 29 Mwp of capacity.

Development of a renewable energy hub in Tuscany announced

Above all, however, Eco Trade Srl has recently signed an agreement for the development of the integrated energy hub “H2-Era Green Valley” in Figline and Incisa Valdarno, near Florence, on a derelict industrial site that formerly housed the Belgian manufacturer of metal cord for tyres, Bekaert. The new facility will house a photovoltaic plant with a capacity of approximately 100.5 Mwp (of which 92 will be ground-mounted and 8.5 on the site’s rooftops), a Bess system with a storage capacity of 140 MWh and a green hydrogen production plant comprising 10 electrolysers of 1 MW each, with an estimated annual output of up to 1,400 tonnes of green hydrogen, which will be supplied by Livorno-based ErreDue, also listed on Euronext Growth Milan. The residual oxygen resulting from the electrolysis process will be used in a closed-loop salmon farm.

In order to acquire a 14.42 per cent stake in the special purpose vehicle that will manage the project (and, in particular, to take over the property complex to be redeveloped), Eco Trade Srl has subscribed to a reserved capital increase of €1,787,400; with a further contribution of up to approximately 13.9 million, its stake could rise to 25 per cent, enabling it to participate in the next phase, which will involve the actual construction of the facilities; during this phase, Eco Trade Srl will also be involved in managing the dispatch of the energy produced by the photovoltaic plant and the Bess system.

This is a highly ambitious project in which the Tages Infra Plus infrastructure fund, managed by 21 Tages, – a company forming part of the European alternative asset management platform 55 per cent owned by Edizione (the Benetton family’s holding company) – will also be investing. In particular, the Tages Infra Plus fund completed its first two closings between July and September 2026, raising 120 million out of a target of 500 million, with participation from Italian and international institutional investors, including pension funds, banks, banking foundations and asset managers. And the fund’s first investment is precisely in H2-Era Green Valley (which involves a total investment of over 100 million).

Com.Tel, which is also listed on Euronext Growth Milan, following an agreement signed with H2-Era Green Valley for the creation of the first ‘green data centre’ with a zero carbon footprint, covering 20,000 square metres, as an integral part of a circular economy industrial ecosystem; the data centre’s waste heat is expected to be fully recovered and used to provide climate control for an agricultural ‘vertical farm’ (vegetable greenhouses). The development timeline for the data centre remains highly uncertain; It should be noted that the Florence-based Ge-Group, which had signed a preliminary contract in 2022 for the eco-friendly redevelopment of the former Bekaert site, had to wait a full 50 months to obtain the relevant permits and authorisations.

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Plans to enter the Bess segment and increase the end-user customer base

Ecosuntek’s development strategy is centred on the following key areas: increasing the installed capacity of the Power Generation business unit (the group currently owns plants with a total capacity of 17.4 MW), expanding midstream activities (energy trading) whilst maximising value creation, expanding sales to end customers via +Energia (whose sales structure will be strengthened and for which advertising campaigns in the press, on the radio and on TV will also be planned), diversifying revenue by entering the BESS segment (both through direct investment and via management on behalf of third parties) and, where appropriate, assessing the possibility of external expansion. Meanwhile, three ground-mounted photovoltaic plants totalling 15 Mwp are already under construction on behalf of a major group in the clothing sector, along with a 10 Mwp agrivoltaic plant in Città della Pieve (Pg), also funded under the ‘Innovative Agrivoltaic’ call for proposals under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), just like the plants in Calabria, and numerous other projects are currently underway.

Ecosuntek has been included in the Intermonte Valore Italia index and, since last April, it has moved to the minimum trading lot, which, within the Euronext Growth Milan market, distinguishes companies with a market capitalisation consistently above 40 million and a free float exceeding 20 per cent (for Ecosuntek, this currently stands at around 29 per cent; amongst the shareholders, with a 5.3 per cent stake, is the private equity firm Deep Value Club Srl, which has also invested in Mare Engineering, amongst others).

At present, energy prices show no sign of falling given the complex international situation, but the diversification of activities remains crucial for Ecosuntek. The company – unsurprisingly, given its core business – has been producing a sustainability report since 2022; it has incorporated a binding target for the annual increase in installed renewable capacity into its Business Plan, supports numerous social initiatives across the Umbria region and is one of the ‘veterans’ of the Euronext Growth Milan market, having first listed there in 2014 as part of the then AIM – MAC (Alternative Capital Market).

Perhaps now, given the scale it has reached, Ecosuntek might aim for a cross-listing on Euronext Milan. Of course, we are in Italia, and we must not forget the recent announcements regarding the tightening and extension of the IRAP surcharge for energy companies (due to the needs of the state budget), coupled with a ban on passing on the increased tax burden to prices, tariffs or other charges applied to customers, which leads to a reduction in profitability and in the attractiveness of companies in the sector to investors.

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