All eyes of the Naturgy shareholder meeting that morning have been focused on the sixth item on the agenda, which referred to the remuneration of the executive president, Francisco Reynés, and the rest of the board members. In the last few hours, rumors had increased that the highest governance body of the energy company could suffer a symbolic setback (it was an advisory vote), but, in the end, this was not the case. The leadership of the energy company has achieved a vote in favor of 76% of the capital present and only a 2% vote against.
CriteriaCaixa, the first shareholder of Naturgy with a stake of almost 27% in the capital, has reaffirmed its commitment to the energy company’s long-term project. This explicit support contrasts with last year’s abstention. The IFM fund, the energy company’s fourth largest shareholder, has abstained.
Reynés has already had to answer questions about this issue and other governance issues, such as the request of some shareholders to appoint a CEO, during question time at the shareholders’ meeting. “I am not the one who raises my own salary nor do I decide corporate governance,” said the executive president, recalling that it is the board and the remuneration commission that are the bodies that deal with these measures. “In 2023, the year of greatest profit for the company, my remuneration fell 7%,” he said.
The president of Naturgy has assessed the situation on the stock market, which has accumulated a drop of more than 24% so far this year. In his opinion, this decline is due to its exclusion from the MSCI indices because these lists are relevant for financial and algorithmic investors. Belonging to them or not means a “flurry of purchases or sales.”
The exclusion from the MSCI indices is due to the company’s low free float, which reaches 12%. Reynés has assured that the little weight that Naturgy’s small shareholders currently have is a consequence of the company having “very relevant shareholders who believe a lot in the company”, which leaves “little room” for the floating capital.
On the other hand, the board has approved a complementary dividend of 0.40 euros per share, which will grant a total dividend of 1.40 euros per share promised against the 2023 financial year. “I don’t see why we should change our dividend policy. dividend because the company is doing well,” Reynés assured a shareholder concerned about shareholder remuneration.
During the session, the Gemini project was not addressed. This initiative, presented two years ago, proposed dividing Naturgy into two listed companies, one focused on regulated infrastructure (energy transportation and distribution) and the other on liberalized businesses, including renewables.
Despite the stoppage of this split project in two, Naturgy continues to bet heavily on investment, to which it allocated 2,944 million euros in 2023, 53% more than in 2022, of which 66% was directed to Spain and the rest abroad.
90% of the investment was channeled into energy transition projects, so Naturgy invested 1,730 million in the generation of renewable energy, while another 900 million were invested in distribution networks.
Naturgy therefore adds 6.5 GW of installed renewable generation capacity in operation, and expects to end the year 2024 with around 8 GW of operational installed capacity, to which we must add a portfolio of projects in development for approximately another 20 GW , mainly in Spain, Australia and the USA.
