Maire Aktie

Good evening, and welcome to the Maire's 9 Months 2026 Results Conference Call. Please note that this conference is being recorded.

[Operator Instructions]

I will now hand over to Silvia Guidi, Head of Investor Relations, to begin today's conference. Silvia, please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining Maire's 9 Months 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Silvia Guidi, and I'm the Head of Investor Relations.

Today, I'm joined by Alessandro Bernini, Group CEO; Mariano Avanzi, Group CFO; and Fabio Fritelli, NextChem Managing Director.

They will walk you through the operating highlights of our business units, followed by an overview of our financial results. At the end of the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions.

Let me now hand over to Alessandro for some introductory remarks.

Thank you, Silvia, and good afternoon, everyone. The first 9 months of 2026 further confirm the resilience of our business model.

In the Middle East, the safety of our people remains our top priority. Through continuous engagement with clients and partners, we have maintained execution momentum and proactively adapted to evolving conditions.

Against this backdrop and leveraging a diversified project portfolio, we delivered EUR 5.6 billion in revenue. EBITDA margin increased to 7.4%, up 60 basis points year-on-year.

This result reflects NextChem's growing contribution and the operating leverage generated by large-scale E&C projects. On the technology front, we continue to strengthen NextChem's platform through the recently announced acquisition of MEA.

This addition further expands our capabilities in critical metals and materials processing, building on the Ballestra and Etica acquisitions completed earlier this year.

In particular, it enhances our exposure to markets with compelling long-term growth prospects driven by the global trends of electrification and artificial intelligence.

Commercial performance was also outstanding. Our integrated offering continues to support Maire's growth trajectory and contribute to our distinctive market positioning.

At the same time, we are broadening our geographic reach, in particular in the Americas, and expanding into high-potential segments, including LNG.

Indeed, we secured a year-to-date order intake of EUR 9 billion. We, therefore, reached our full-year 2026 target 3 months in advance. Our book-to-bill ratio stands at 1.6.

Group backlog reached EUR 16.4 billion, close to record levels, providing more than 2 years of revenue visibility. This strong commercial momentum reflects clients' growing need to secure execution capacity and advanced investment decisions as energy security and industrial resilience become increasingly important strategic priorities.

So now let me leave the floor to Fabio for a detailed look at the STS operational performance.

Thank you, Alessandro, and good afternoon, everyone. Over the first 9 months, NextChem recorded EUR 793.7 million of new orders. This includes the contribution from Ballestra following the completion of its acquisition in June.

The order intake mix was well diversified, as you can appreciate from the map on the right. Fertilizer Technologies represented the largest share, also thanks to the sizable awards of Fertil Pampa in Argentina and [SAN 7] in Saudi Arabia.

We also secured contracts in sustainable aviation fuel, specialty chemicals and advanced materials. These awards confirm both the breadth of our technology offering and its global market appeal.

As a result, backlog increased to approximately EUR 786 million at the end of September, supported by both organic growth and the continued expansion of our technology portfolio.

Among the awards secured during the period, the full urea technology package for the SAN 7 project stands out as a landmark achievement for NextChem.

SABIC's selection confirms the strength of our urea platform and reinforces our leadership position in a market where technology, reliability, and track record are key differentiators.

With a value of EUR 125 million, this award will contribute to the expansion of Saudi Arabia's fertilizer production in line with Saudi Vision 2030 to strengthen its role in supporting global food security.

Let me now briefly walk you through the recently announced acquisition of MEA and explain how it strengthens NextChem's platform.

Following the acquisitions of Ballestra and EdTech, both focused on inorganic chemistry, we have been working to further expand our presence in technologies for metals, minerals, and critical raw materials processing.

These are strategic segments underpinned by the secular growth drivers linked to electrification and AI infrastructure. MEA's acquisition strengthens NextChem's capabilities in the separation, purification, and recovery of critical strategic and precious metals as well as rare earth elements.

MEA brings end-to-end expertise spanning from pilot activities to the design and implementation of industrial solutions with tailor-made processes developed around the specific characteristics of primary and recycled feedstocks.

Its research centers in Sweden and Germany will also become part of NextChem's innovation network, further strengthening technology development capabilities.

The transaction includes an upfront consideration of EUR 4 million plus potential earnouts of up to EUR 4 million linked to future performance.

Closing is expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Now I would like to highlight an important milestone in NextChem's innovation efforts.

Last week, we inaugurated RomeNode, a 6,000-square-meter hub designed to accelerate the development and scale-up of new technologies.

By bringing together several laboratories and up to 15 pilot plants in a single location, RomeNode advances solutions from testing to industrial deployment by combining AI-enabled scientific research, engineering expertise and industrial know-how into a single platform.

Initial programs will focus on green hydrogen, sustainable fuels, low-carbon energy carriers and circular critical and innovative materials, supporting NextChem's long-term growth ambitions.

The location is particularly meaningful as the facilities are based where Maire's journey began 40 years ago. I will now hand the floor back to Sandro for the operational performance of the integrated E&C business unit.

Thank you. Thank you, Fabio. Talking about E&C, let me start with an update on our activities in the Middle East.

At the end of September, around 2,500 of our people were deployed across the region. The main projects with ongoing on-site operations continued to progress through construction and commissioning activities.

This was supported by the availability of key equipment and additional deliveries received during the period through logistics rerouting measures.

Close coordination with our clients and partners is also playing an important role in advancing project execution.

At the same time, we continue to monitor and document both direct and indirect impacts of the mitigation measures supporting the ongoing management and the recognition of the related cost escalation.

Looking more closely at Hail and Ghasha, the project has reached approximately 80% overall completion, reflecting the significant progress achieved to date.

Civil and concrete works are substantially completed, while the main steel structure installations have been finalized.

Despite challenging climate conditions during the summer and the reduced operability of the Strait of Hermes, activities continue to advance, with the night shift operations implemented to sustain construction productivity.

On the logistics side, around 1,300 shipments were rerouted through alternative ports, and approximately 2,800 containers were successfully delivered in the past months.

In addition, several oversized and heavy-lift pieces of equipment have already been delivered to the site, with additional deliveries expected shortly, which could support an acceleration of execution activities in the coming months.

Moving to commercial performance. Our integrated E&C solutions delivered a strong order intake of EUR 8.2 billion in the first 9 months. This performance reflects the continued strength of our core markets, while we are broadening our geographic reach and expanding into new segments.

In particular, we are strengthening our presence in Latin America and expanding into LNG where we can leverage our expertise in the execution of large-scale gas projects.

Our E&C backlog reached EUR 15.6 billion at the end of September. It includes several landmark projects in sectors that remain at the forefront of global energy investment, including gas processing, infrastructure upgrades and petrochemicals.

Looking ahead, our client continues to engage us at an earlier stage of project development, as demonstrated by the early engineering and FEED awards secured during the period.

This provides us with early visibility on projects that may progress to the EPC phase later on.

Let me now provide you with more details on 2 multibillion awards that were included in our backlog in the first half of the year, as certain formalities between the parties have now been completed.

Starting with the rich gas development project in the UAE, a $4.3 billion EPC contract was awarded to Tecnimont by ADNOC Gas. This scope includes a new NGL fraction unit with a capacity of around 23,000 tonnes per day, enabling the recovery of higher-value liquids from rich natural gas.

The award further strengthens our presence in Abu Dhabi and confirms Tecnimont's recognized expertise in advanced gas processing. Another important award was the $2.3 billion SAF project for Saudi Aramco.

Our scope covers 2 packages, including onshore water treatment and injection facilities as well as associated utilities.

The project is designed to support reservoir pressure maintenance and sustain the long-term production capacity of the world's largest offshore oil field, reinforcing Tecnimont's role in delivering critical infrastructure.

Then, before handing over to Mariano for the discussion of our financial results, let me give you an update on our expansion into the LNG market. In the U.S., we are supporting the FEED of the Argent LNG project in Louisiana following the agreement announced in January.

Subject to the client's final investment decision, the project is expected to progress to the EPC phase, with Tecnimont providing engineering, technology integration, and project management services.

In parallel, in the UAE, we have been awarded a competitive FEED for the ADNOC Gas East Coast LNG facility in Fuaira, a strategic project supporting its zero-emissions strategy.

Subject to the competitive process and final investment decision, this could potentially lead to an EPC award in the months ahead.

Together, these 2 awards mark an important step in our expansion into LNG and demonstrate that Tecnimont is increasingly being recognized as a credible player in this segment.

I will now hand it over to Mariano.

Thank you, Alessandro, and good afternoon, everyone. In the first 9 months, we delivered another period of solid growth and improved profitability.

Group revenues reached EUR 5.6 billion, up 7.7% year-on-year, driven by resilient project execution.

EBITDA was EUR 414.3 million, up 15.7%. EBITDA margin expanded by 60 basis points to 7.4%, reflecting both the growing contribution from higher-margin technology solutions and the operating leverage from E&C projects.

At the bottom line, the strong operating performance combined with effective financial and tax management delivered a consolidated net income of EUR 243 million, up 18.6%, and an EBITDA margin of 4.3%, up 40 basis points.

Group net income was EUR 208.9 million after EUR 34 million of results attributable to minority interest, mainly reflecting the growing contribution from Net and projects executed through joint ventures.

Let's now analyze our financial results by business unit. The scale delivered revenues of EUR 467.3 million, up 54%, mainly driven by low-carbon chemicals and fertilizers.

EBITDA was EUR 113.2 million, up 41%, while its margin stood at 23.8%, reflecting the contribution of proprietary equipment in the product mix.

As a reminder, NextChem's 9-month results include the consolidation of Ballestra and ETC from the 1st of July.

Moving to Integrated E&C. Revenues were EUR 5.2 billion, up 4.8%. Growth was driven by steady project execution, including the ones in the Gulf region, as discussed earlier by Alessandro.

We also recorded solid progress in other geographic areas such as Kazakhstan and Algeria.

EBITDA amounted to EUR 301.1 million, up 8.4%, while its margin improved to 5.8%, an increase of 20 basis points.

Let's now analyze the cash flow dynamics. Our business continued to generate strong operating cash flows, providing firepower to fund growth, invest in technology expansion, and reward shareholders.

At the end of September, the adjusted net cash position was EUR 51.8 million. CapEx amounted to EUR 218.4 million, primarily related to the acquisition of Ballestra and EPC.

The remaining portion was invested in development and scale-up of proprietary technology as well as accelerating digital innovation. At the same time, we returned EUR 194.4 million to shareholders through dividends and EUR 85.2 million to share buybacks.

On a further note, the IFRS 16 lease liability increased to EUR 440.3 million at the end of September from EUR 111 million at year-end 2025. The increase exclusively reflects the new long-term lease agreement for our headquarters at the Garbald complex in Milan, effective from the 1st of July.

This is, therefore, an accounting effect associated with the new lease, which secures our presence at the site for more than 20 years. This concludes our financial review.

I will now hand over to Alessandro for his closing remarks.

Thank you, Mariano. As we look ahead, we continue to see a supportive market environment.

Our commercial pipeline exceeds EUR 61 billion, providing good visibility in the months ahead. We are already well positioned on a couple of initiatives through early engagement activities, which are expected to progressively convert into full EPC contracts.

In particular, in the near term, South America remains a tangible source of additional opportunities. One gas treatment initiative for which we are already carrying out early engineering activities is approaching the final investment decision, and this could support an EPC award in early 2027.

Looking further ahead, investment momentum is expected to broaden across several regions. The Middle East, needless to say, continues to offer significant opportunities, with large-scale fertilizers, gas treatment, and LNG projects expected to be sanctioned next year.

Some of these projects can generate opportunities for both NextChem and Tecnimont as they combine proprietary technologies with large-scale execution.

Europe continues to advance renewable and biofuel solutions, with opportunities also for our technologies serving the critical minerals industry.

Both North and sub-Saharan Africa are seeing increasing activity in both nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers as well as gas infrastructure, while North America remains an attractive LNG market.

Overall, this diversified opportunity set reinforces our confidence in the sustainability of our growth beyond the current backlog cycle.

In conclusion, our 9-month results confirm the solidity of our business and the strong commercial momentum across the group. Based on our performance to date and the planned activities for the remainder of the year, we confirm our 2026 guidance.

In particular, we expect project execution to remain resilient in the fourth quarter. In the Middle East, the mitigation measures implemented in close coordination with clients and partners are expected to support further project progress.

At the same time, the integrated E&C business is expected to benefit from the continued ramp-up of activities across other geographies, particularly Central Asia and North Africa.

We expect growth to accelerate further in the fourth quarter in the Sustainable Technology Solutions business unit, driven by backlog conversion, a favorable project mix, and the increasing contribution from Ballestra.

So overall, we expect the full-year group revenues and EBITDA to be in the mid to upper end of our guidance range. Meanwhile, operating cash generation is anticipated to support an adjusted net cash position substantially in line with year-end 2025 levels.

We enter the final part of the year with solid visibility and remain focused on delivering our full-year targets while maintaining commercial momentum to support further growth.

We also continue to selectively pursue additional M&A and strategic agreements in line with our priorities. In particular, we are currently actively pursuing one opportunity in Europe, which we are confident could be announced before the end of the year.

This concludes our presentation. And of course, we are now ready to take your questions. Operator, please go ahead.

[Operator Instructions]

The first question comes from the line of Massimo Bonisoli from Equita.

One question on the trading environment. Could you give us some color on how you see the fourth quarter developing across the 2 divisions?

In particular, how would you describe the current execution environment for E&C? And what kind of acceleration should we expect in NextChem with respect to the divisional guidance?

The second question on STS and the pipeline. You have already reached EUR 8.9 billion over the 9 months, essentially achieving your yearly target of more than EUR 9 billion.

Could you give us an indication of the size of the contracts currently targeted for award in the fourth quarter and the first quarter next year? And how should we think about potential order intake over the next 6 months?

Thank you, Massimo. Let me start with the first part of your first question.

I would like to spend a few words about what we can expect in the fourth quarter as far as E&C business is concerned. And then I'll pass the floor to Fabio for his evaluation and his remarks on the expectations for the fourth quarter for STS.

There is no major information to add to what we have already mentioned in our presentation with our press release. We have confirmed our guidance, the upper side of our guidance.

It means that it is easily quantifiable what we are expecting to deliver in the fourth quarter. Of course, we are committed, as far as the projects which are ongoing are concerned, to do our best to reinforce additionally the progress of certain projects.

In particular, we see the possibility to accelerate a little bit as far as our projects in Kazakhstan are concerned. There are all the conditions now which could make possible to progress even additionally compared to the planned contractual progress.

As far as the Middle East is concerned, as you know, the Middle East projects based there are the major contributors to our production, namely our revenues.

So since today, we have been able to manage all the challenges which the geopolitical situation is delivering, we expect to be able to be in a position to continue with the progress that we have been able to deliver in the second and the third quarter as well with the possibility to do a little bit better because us to say, as we have already mentioned, the third quarter, in particular, the months of August and September have expressed some additional challenges because the adverse climate conditions, which, of course, we are not expecting to face once again in the last quarter of the year.

So for sure, we are well positioned not only to replicate the performance of the third quarter, but to increase, to grow additionally what we have delivered with the projects which are currently under execution.

And even considering that, of course, the projects newly awarded are progressively delivering additional volumes of revenue. So for this reason, we are very confident that by the end of the year, we will deliver the upper side of the guidance.

But now I pass the floor to Fabio. And then I will reply to your answer regarding the expected additional awards. Please, Fabio.

Thank you, Sandro. Yes, on STS, the question was on backlog conversion mix and increasing contribution from Ballestra.

I would say that what is probably contributing most in the fourth quarter in terms of backlog will be the fertilizer business line. 2026 has been a very good year for, I would say, nitrogen fertilizers, driven by a couple of elements.

The first one is that we got to the conclusion of the award of projects which we had been working on for a long time, like SAN 7 in Saudi Arabia, but it was also an acceleration of awards of fertilizer projects elsewhere in the Middle East.

And I'm referring primarily to Fertil Pampa in Argentina and also to a couple of acquisitions we made in China. So probably, if I have to name the most relevant contribution of the fourth quarter will come for fertilizers, but also from other business lines.

As far as Ballestra is concerned, don't forget that Ballestra's backlog is slightly different from what we have in NextChem. So it has a longer delivery time than the usual backlog of NextChem projects, and it contains some elements of the E&P business in the current backlog.

So this is more or less the situation. Ballestra will clearly be a contributor in the fourth quarter, but probably the best contributor will be the fertilizer business.

And clearly, we are confident we will be able to manage and achieve the results we have announced.

So, trying to complete the answer to your question, Massimo. Talking about order intake, I truly believe that all of you have appreciated what we have been able to deliver in the first 9 months of the year, a very successful period, commercially speaking.

We have been able to secure EUR 9 billion, which represents, in particular in this challenging environment, an outstanding performance.

Also, because we have been able to widen the operational area for our project and being successful in expanding our presence in Latin America, Argentina, Trinidad and Tobago then in other traditional countries but we were not there since a few years, for example, in Turkey.

So, this has been the story of the last 9 months. Now we are at the end of October. What else is there until the end of the year?

Well, considering the satisfactory commercial pipeline of EUR 61 billion, and considering that our commercial department, both the E&C business unit and the commercial department of NextChem, the STS business unit.

Both of them are working on real prospects. But we do not expect to secure other projects of billions by the end of the year.

We have some targets quite hot located in particular in Europe, middle projects from an EPC project standpoint. So you can imagine that I'm talking about something ranging between EUR 400 million, EUR 500 million, EUR 600 million equivalent.

One of them, considering where we are now with the commercial discussions, I am confident that it will be possible to have secured this project by the end of the year.

On top of it, of course, we are targeting those types of projects, detailed engineering FEED, the first step of the process for securing other giant projects in 2027.

And I am talking about once again gas treatments, fertilizers, and ammonia projects; all of them are real targets on which we are already working hard.

What we expect to have in the first part of 2027. Then I don't know. The final decision belongs to the client. So of course, we are not the master of their decision process.

Based on what they have anticipated, I truly believe that it could be possible to have recognized and assigned one project, which we have mentioned in our presentation, for which we are presently going to deliver the detailed engineering, and it is due to be automatically converted into an EPC contract to the extent that, of course, the result of the FEED and the quantum of the investment will satisfy the expectation of the client.

But we do not expect any particular surprise because we have already discussed; we have already delivered some portion of those activities.

So for sure, in the first part of 2027, the traditional size of an EPC for a fertilizer or an ammonia project, exceeding $1 billion, could be awarded.

And then in the second half of the year, there will be the conclusion of the commercial process for those other feed projects on which we are working so far, but it will not be possible for them to have the conclusion before summer 2027.

So not possible in the first part of the year. And in the second half, we are talking about the super giant projects. And when I say super giants, we are talking about projects ranging between $8 billion and $12 billion each.

And on top of that, there is the LNG market. LNG market is quite a new segment for our group, both for NextChem and for Tecnimont.

But due to the successful award of the project that we are presently executing on behalf of Arch LNG in Louisiana, we are now delivering the FEED and all the activities to get the authorization from the U.S. federal authorities.

This has launched our group into the small group of companies that are used to work in the LNG space. This has made it possible to have been awarded the FEED for the LNG; of course, we are doing our best in order to be in a position to have converted it into the EPC.

And also, there are other prospects in the LNG space for which we have already received the invitation to participate in the tender. So it is a real recognition that our group, Maire, as a whole could be and will be one of the most critical players in the LNG space moving forward.

So just to say that I am, of course, not relaxed, but I am really satisfied about what we have already achieved and what we can really deliver in 2027.

I don't know if I have an answer to your question in this long answer, but I truly believe that I have provided you with all the necessary information, which provides the confidence and the comfort that the future can be served only in the best situations, better situations even compared to what we have already awarded.

The next question comes from the line of Kate O'Sullivan from Citi.

So firstly, in your prepared remarks, you highlighted several upcoming deliveries in the Middle East that could accelerate activity.

How much visibility do you have on their timing, and how material could their contribution be to revenue and EBITDA? And more broadly on that one, how should we think about the impact of the Middle East situation on growth in 2027?

And then secondly, one for Mariano, maybe. Could you help me bridge the softer operating cash flow this quarter, particularly some color around the higher cash tax and then also on the working capital?

Let me provide you with some additional information about what we are doing in the Middle East.

I am convinced that, as far as Hail and Ghasha, which is the main contributor to the Middle East project, I have already provided some color about what we are doing.

We have achieved 80% completion. We are progressing. We have already all the relevant materials on site, which is able to feed the progress of the incoming months.

So far, so good. Of course, when you say what we can expect in the 2027, of course, 2027, even if detailed information will be provided only when we will communicate year-end results at our Capital Market Day, but I can anticipate, of course, it is quite easy to understand that the most significant portion of the activities expected in 2027 are already backed by projects which are in our current portfolio.

So as far as Maire is concerned, we have no particular pressure, and of course, a lot will depend on how the present geopolitical situation will evolve moving forward.

If the situation should remain as it is right now, we don't see any particular constraint to deliver the same progress or even accelerate a little bit compared to what we have delivered so far, based on the condition that we already have all the necessary materials at the site, and we have been able to mobilize all the resources, which are able to deliver even additional progress on a monthly basis.

So we have already organized all the conditions to do better compared to what we have delivered so far, considering, I repeat once again, that we are not expecting to manage the same adverse climate conditions that we have been obliged to manage in August and September, reducing the activities during the day and just enhancing the activities during the night shift.

Now we are in a position to maintain the traditional level of efficiency. And for this reason, we are even in a position to accelerate a little bit. And this is the basis that has confirmed the possibility of achieving the upper end of the guidance that we have targeted for 2026.

So this is as far as the performance, in particular, affecting the Middle East project. I have concentrated a lot on the UAE, but of course, we have also other projects in the area.

Qatar is almost complete. Other projects in the UAE are under commissioning. So it is not necessary to rely on materials or thousands of people. And then, in Saudi Arabia, one project has just started.

Accordingly, the engineering activities are presently run in Milan or in Mumbai. So these activities are not affected by the Middle East region challenges.

And while another one, which is the Amiral project, also this project has already benefited of the deliveries of materials in the previous month. So now everything is progressing in accordance with the contract.

So for this reason, as I said before, so far, so good. And I repeat, if the situation doesn't get worse, we are well prepared to perform even better compared to the previous quarters.

Considering the trend of cash flow, it mainly depends on the projects executed in various parts of the world quarter-by-quarter.

And so you could have different trends between one quarter and another, but it is mainly due to the activity we perform in the Middle East, in Kazakhstan, and in North Africa.

Also, the tax depends on the payments we make in the specific area where we are operating, and they are mainly linked to the cash flow of the single part of the country we are paying.

The next question comes from the line of Marco Cristofori from Intesa.

Congratulations on the results. Two very short questions from my side. The first one is on the pipeline.

Did you also consider the potential order for the repairs for the disruption in the Middle East to your pipeline, or is something that comes on top?

And my second question is for Mariano. Following the impact of the more or less EUR 300 million for the rentals for 20 years, would this translate into higher D&A cost in 2027, year?

If I did my calculation in the right way, it should be an increase of around EUR 15 million per annum. Can you confirm this?

Marco, just trying to answer your first question. First, I would like to transfer to you what the result of the dialogues that we have with our clients based in the Middle East.

Based on their statement and what we are now appreciating already, they are trying to repair their infrastructures, which have suffered damages due to the consequences of the geopolitical situation directly by engaging local construction companies, leveraging on the design and engineering, which was originally made available as part of the deliverables when the infrastructure was originally realized.

So most of them are trying to do this activity alone. And if necessary, they request the support of a limited number of specialized technical people which could provide and help to their technical team in identifying which types of activities and which types of repairs are feasible.

Of course, I am not talking about, for example, the LNG train of Raslaan, which, for sure, considering the level of damage that it has suffered, will be a completely different story.

But of course, this doesn't affect our expectation. So just to say that in our commercial pipeline, in our current backlog and also even more in our shortly expectation of additional awards in the short time, we do not expect to be engaged to be involved in the repair activities of damaging infrastructures.

Yes. Considering the lease payment is EUR 16 million and it last till 2028. After the lease payment, it will be EUR 19.5 million.

So we will have an increase of EUR 3.5.

Yes. But let me complete a little bit. Of course, in the meantime, the cost will increase just because the ultimate owner, the real owner of the infrastructure, will intervene with improvements, in particular, to improve the energy efficiency.

So, in the end, yes, there will be a direct increase in annual rental cost. But at the same time, due to the improvement, which will be made and will be suffered will be made by the owner, we expect to face to enjoy a significant reduction in the OpEx, for example, electricity, the power, which is one another important cost element for our Milan-based headquarter.

So all in all, I do not expect that the total cost apart from the rental will be extremely different compared to what we are suffering so far.

So the next question comes from the line of Kevin Roger from Kepler.

Maybe just one question on Hail and Ghasha. Because during the present, I think you said that you get all the equipment on the ground for the sound execution of the project.

And I think that you mentioned that you could even accelerate the execution of the project in '27. What does that mean exactly, because the project is already 80% completed?

So when you talk about potential acceleration, what does it mean exactly, please, on that one?

Acceleration means Rod, Kevin, excuse me, that means that we could express an additional progress compared to what the baseline agreed upon with the client expects in the future months.

Of course, the client, ADNOC, is eager to have completed the infrastructure. So it is, of course, supporting the possibility also from economical standpoint is, of course, ready to recognize the effort from economical standpoint.

Since we have, as I was saying before, all the appropriate resources on site. Presently, Hail and Ghasha have had something close to 57000 people operating on this specific site.

So, having a huge organization already present at the site and having all the materials already available, with the exception of some oversized heavy-lift equipment that we expect to be the concurrence of ADNOC Logistics, having been delivered shortly, we could arrange the activities in order to express additional progress.

Of course, we are ready and well equipped, but we will not do it until we have finalized with the client the appropriate compensation for this effort.

So just to say that we could be in a position to do it, but before, of course, we have to share with the client what it means to activate an acceleration process.

And just remind me, sorry, the supposed initial completion date, it's mid-'28, right?

Right indeed. This represents the original deadline. Of course, we were targeting an early deadline, but just internally, in order to have the possibility, of course, to manage uncertainties or something that normally could happen during the execution phase.

But just to answer your question, yes, exactly. This is the completion date contractually defined between the parties.

The next question comes from the line of Isacco Brambilla from Mediobanca.

So just 2 quick follow-ups from my side. The first one is on Ballestra. So, please disclose the effect on the turnover recorded in the third quarter.

Second point: during the last call, we discussed a lot about the strong confidence in the reimbursement of mitigation measures put in place to ensure project execution is advancing properly.

Could you give us an update on how the discussions with the clients are proceeding and what timing we should keep in mind to have impact reflected in your P&L?

Let me take the first question first and then hand it over to Fabio. So on Ballestra, as you know, we don't usually disclose numbers on single entities within the group.

One thing that I mentioned in the previous answer is that Ballestra has a backlog, which also contains elements of the job that we would normally do on the EPC side of the business.

So going forward, Ballestra will focus more on the licensing and engineering software part of the job and leverage the competencies of Maire Group whenever EPC contracts are needed.

So, as a matter of fact, the contribution and the current backlog, as I was saying before, will deploy over a relatively longer period of time than you normally see under the NextChem or the FTS type of business.

So I would not be able to disclose the specific number, but it's going to be a substantial contribution to NextChem's business going forward.

And more than that, let me share that after a few months of full integration, the potential in terms of cross-selling that Ballesta is bringing not only in the inorganic chemistry sector, but also as cross-selling opportunities to the E&C side of the business is becoming relevant, and we expect to be able to benefit from those in the years to come. Sandro?

Yes. Talking about your second question, I don't remember if we spent a few words on how the clients based in the area have already organized the process.

But since I wanted to be clear, it is better to repeat. First of all, all the clients based in that part of the world are recognizing that what is due to happen to the contractors is something which is beyond their control, and it is due to extraordinary events.

Namely, they must be ready to cover the extra cost that the contractors, including, of course, ourselves, are incurring. And basically, they have shared the problem into 3 different streams.

The first stream, having the discussion is focused on what they define the unavoidable cost. Unavoidable costs are, for example, the logistics cost, transportation.

Insurance, which, due to the consequences of the geopolitical situation, everybody has been obliged to reroute some cargoes to the destination using different approaches, different routes, and normally much longer compared to what was originally estimated.

So this can be demonstrated quite easily because you can, of course, demonstrate and document what you are going to incur; this logistics is one of them, but it is the easiest element.

And we are working, of course, and discussing with the clients in order to have recognized what has been incurred for the time being, the table which have been organized contemplate the cost incurred up to the end of August.

But of course, everybody knows that the situation must be updated also moving forward depending on when all the project join the completion or because the situation gets back to normality.

The second stream relates to the indirect cost. So the extra cost deriving from the inflation effect, the escalation cost, which has been caused by the geopolitical consequences, Fuel for sure, is more expensive compared to before.

Labor costs are higher. So all these elements which cannot documented with an invoice, but must require an additional level of discussion. Also, this stream has already started in July.

We are working with the various clients. The discussions are already ongoing. And for the situation up to the end of August, it is reasonable to expect that a solution, a common solution, will be agreed upon quite soon.

The third stream relates to the date of completion. Of course, everybody, not only ourselves, but also the other contractors are concentrated in order to maintain the original completion date for the project.

But sometimes means that in order to maintain the completion date, the original contractual completion date, it is necessary to put in place additional measures, having additional people at the site because sometimes it is not possible to work because of the consequences of the geopolitical situation.

So it means additional cost, yes, indirect. But if not possible, the client must be ready to recognize a postponement of the completion because, of course, you know very well that if you fail to complete the project within the contractual date, then you are liable, you are subject to liquidated damages.

So in order to avoid the application of liquidated damages, there is also another stream, which relates, is it possible to maintain the original contractual date or considering what is going to happen so far and what reasonably could we have to expect to manage moving forward is still possible? Or yes, no.

This is another table of discussion with the various clients. So this is the process, which what we are doing, we are negotiating, of course, we have already submitted our situation, the situation pertaining our projects up to the end of August, of course, with the commitment of both parties to update moving forward.

But considering that we are negotiating and it is a very sensitive issue, let me say that I cannot disclose too much in addition to what I have said before because I don't want to create a compromise to buy negotiation.

There are no more questions at this time. Therefore, I hand the conference back to Silvia Guidi for any closing remarks.

Thank you very much to everyone for participating in today's call. For any follow-up, please feel free to reach out to our Investor Relations team.

Our next appointment together will be our 2027 Capital Markets Day at the beginning of March next year. The exact date will be announced soon. You can also find details on investor conferences you will be attending on our website.

Thank you again, and have a great evening.

Hello, and welcome to Maire's First Half 2026 Results Conference Call. Please note this conference is being recorded. [Operator Instructions]

I will now hand it over to your host, Silvia Guidi, Head of Investor Relations, to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining Maire's First Half 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Silvia Guidi, and I'm the Head of the Investor Relations Department.

Today, I'm joined by Alessandro Bernini, CEO; Mariano Avanzi, CFO; and Fabio Fritelli, Nextchem's Managing Director. They will walk you through the operating highlights of our business units, followed by an overview of our financial results. At the end of the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions.

Let me now hand over to Alessandro for some introductory remarks.

Thank you, Silvia, and good afternoon, everyone. The first half of 2026 once again highlighted the resilience of our business model amid the ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Even in this challenging environment, which continues to be characterized by stringent safety protocols, project execution continued without major disruptions, reflecting the strength of our operating platform and the close cooperation with clients and subcontractors.

Leveraging our ability to manage complexity across a diversified project backlog, we delivered solid financial results. Revenues reached EUR 3.7 billion and the EBITDA margin improved by 50 basis points to 7.2%, benefiting from the growing contribution of Nextchem technology portfolio.

In June, we also completed the acquisition of Ballestra and ETEK, expanding our presence into inorganic chemistry for fertilizers and critical materials, both companies will contribute to our P&L results starting from the third quarter.

The solid operating and financial performance was complemented by a strong order intake of EUR 7.2 billion in the first half of the year, corresponding to a book-to-bill ratio of 2 and leading to a group backlog of EUR 16.3 billion, close to its all-time high. Including the contract secured in July, total new awards have already reached EUR 8.4 billion in the first 7 months of the year, bringing us close to the EUR 9 billion full year target we had set.

This acceleration reflects stronger-than-expected demand backed by energy security and industrial resilience concerns across the board. Equally important, this commercial momentum is enabling us to expand our geographical footprint and enter new markets.

In this respect, Argentina represents a significant milestone in our diversification journey. Through the Fertil Pampa project, we will deliver the largest urea plant in Latin America, combining Tecnimont's execution capabilities with Nextchem's proprietary technologies. This award further validates the strength of our integrated business model and our ability to offer clients end-to-end solutions.

Importantly, we are entering this new market with a derisk execution approach by focusing on our core engineering and procurement expertise while construction activities will be carried out by SACDE, a leading Argentina contractor with extensive local experience. This first major contract creates a platform for future growth, positioning us to capture additional opportunities across the wider Latin American market.

As our backlog continues to expand, strengthening our engineering capabilities remains a key priority. In the first 6 months of the year, we added around 500 professionals strengthening our capabilities in fertilizers and in the chemistry of minerals and metals through the acquisition of Ballestra and ETEK and while enhancing our LNG expertise through targeted hiring.

At the same time, we reinforced our proximity to key growth markets with the opening of Nextchem Beijing office, establishing a strategic hub within one of the world's leading industrial ecosystem for next-generation industrial technologies.

And now let me leave the floor to Fabio for a detailed look at the STS operational performance.

Thank you, Sandro, and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks to the recent awards and the completion of the Ballestra acquisition, Nextchem enters the second half of the year with a record backlog of EUR 702.6 million, leveraging a technology portfolio exceeding 80 solutions. The EUR 506.9 million (sic) [ EUR 556.9 ] order intake in the first half, which includes the consolidation of Ballestra's portfolio for EUR 265.3 million reflected a well-diversified exposure across fertilizers, specialty chemicals and advanced materials, confirming the relevance of our offering across multiple value chains and geographies.

More broadly, we are seeing strong commercial momentum in fertilizers, and we are focusing on large-scale integrated projects where Nextchem can maximize the value of its platform by offering a full package, including licensing and proprietary equipment as demonstrated by the recent Fertil Pampa award.

Let me now briefly walk you through our recent M&A transactions and explain how they strengthen Nextchem's growth platform for future commercial prospects. At the end of June, we completed the acquisition of Ballestra for a total consideration of EUR 184 -- EUR 148 million. The group comprises Ballestra, including the Mazzoni brand, a global leader in detergent and surfactant technologies Buss ChemTech specialized in fluorine derivatives and gas liquid reactions and Ballestra India, the engineering hub in Bangalore.

Together, these businesses bring market-leading solutions with a proven track record of over 6,400 plant preferences worldwide, significantly accelerating the development of Nextchem's technology platform. It expands our portfolio across the full NPK fertilizer spectrum, the chemistry for strategic materials, particularly critical minerals and metals processing, while providing access to global consumer goods customers through soap and detergent solutions.

We have already started working closely with Ballestra's commercial teams on a number of opportunities, and we are encouraged by the early signs we are seeing, including promising cross-selling potential.

Last month, we also completed the purchase of a 70% stake in ETEK for a total consideration of EUR 11.1 million, of which EUR 5 million was paid upfront with the remainder linked to earn-outs. Through ETEK, we gain exposure to the rapidly growing electronic waste stream with proprietary solutions characterized by high recovery rates, feedstock flexibility and improved energy efficiency.

The transaction marks our entry into the attractive precious metals recovery market, and adds advanced technologies to Nextchem's circular solutions platform. We are already seeing solid commercial interest from our existing waste management customers, providing early validation of the attractiveness of this value proposition.

Together, these 2 acquisitions are part of a broader strategic initiative aimed at expanding our technology portfolio in mineral and metal processing with a particular focus on strategic and critical materials. We see significant long-term potential in this segment and intend to further strengthen our capabilities and market position through continuous investments, including additional targeted M&A opportunities.

I will now hand it back to Alessandro for the operational performance of the Integrated E&C Solutions business unit.

Thank you, Fabio. So turning to our integrated E&C Solutions operations, let me provide you with an update on activities across the Middle East, where around 2,500 of our engineers and technicians were deployed at the end of June.

As I mentioned earlier, our projects continue to advance through construction and commissioning driven by the viability of key equipment and materials already on site as well as by a wide range of mitigation actions implemented with our client. Through proactive planning, rapid logistics reconfigurations and close coordination with our partners, we continue to ensure operational continuity.

For example, all items suitable for container transport were successfully rerouted to alternative trucking and air freight routes, while oversized equipment is expected to continue being shipped by vessel, supported by dedicated local logistics arrangements. At the same time, we are diligently documenting all mitigation related impacts for the recognition of cost escalations.

Looking more closely at Hail and Ghasha, the project reached 75% overall progress at the end of June. This scale of execution is reflected in the hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of concrete poured and tons of steel structures installed, supported by a workforce of 31,000 people currently on site, including construction subcontractors.

Maintaining this pace, required a highly coordinated effort. Following the reduced operability of the Strait of Hormuz, around 600 shipments were rerouted through alternative ports and approximately 1,500 containers were successfully delivered to the site. These actions have allowed construction activities to continue without major disruptions. Through continuous engagement with our client, we have also identified multiple execution pathways to support uninterrupted project progress going forward.

Moving on to our commercial performance. E&C's order intake reached EUR 6.7 billion in the first half and following the award secured in July is now approaching EUR 8 billion. This acceleration reflects clients' growing need to secure execution capacity for large and complex projects.

As a result, our E&C backlog increased to EUR 15.6 billion at the end of June and includes projects across our core segment, spending gas processing, petrochemical and energy infrastructure upgrades with completion dates extending through 2031.

Before handing over to our CFO for a closer look at the financial results, let me briefly walk you through the backlog schedule of this business unit. With EUR 15.6 billion backlog at the end of June, further strengthened by July award, we have built a strong foundation to navigate a volatile environment. Based on the information currently available, around 20% of the backlog is expected to be executed in the second half of 2026, which substantially covers this year production while approximately 40% is scheduled for 2027 and another 40% for '28 and beyond.

Importantly, this visibility is supported by a healthy mix of early and later stage projects and a diversified geographical footprint with a growing contribution from Africa, Central Asia and South America.

And now I hand over to Mariano for the financial review.

Thank you, Alessandro. Our first half group income statement continues to demonstrate our resilience through profitable growth. Revenues reached EUR 3.7 billion, up 6.9% year-on-year, driven by steady project execution. EBITDA was EUR 266.2 million, up 14.7%, supported by higher revenues and improved operating leverage. This resulted in an EBITDA margin of 7.2%, up 50 basis points, also thanks to the contribution from Nextchem higher value-added services.

At the bottom line, strong operating performance combined with effective financial and tax management delivered a consolidated net income of EUR 157.2 million, up 18.3% with a margin of 4.3%, up 40 basis points. Group net income was EUR 137.9 million after EUR 19.3 million of result attributable to minority shareholders, mainly related to Nextchem and projects in joint venture.

Let's now analyze our financial results by business unit. STS delivered revenues of EUR 285.7 million, up 46.9%, an increase mainly driven by low carbon chemicals and fertilizers. EBITDA rose to EUR 68 million, up 39.9% with a margin of 23.8%, reflecting the contribution of proprietary equipment in the product mix during the period. As a reminder, Nextchem's first half results do not yet benefit from the consolidation of Ballestra and ETEK.

Integrated E&C revenues were EUR 3.4 billion, up 4.5%. Growth was driven by the steady progress of projects under execution across our portfolio. Alongside the continued advancement of projects in the Gulf region discussed earlier by Alessandro, we also recorded solid execution progress in Kazakhstan and Algeria. EBITDA was EUR 198.2 million, up 8% with a margin of 5.8%, up 20 basis points.

Let's now analyze the cash flow dynamics of the period. The strong operating performance delivered in the first half allowed to support investment in technology expansion and continue rewarding shareholders. As a result, we maintained a solid adjusted net cash position of EUR 301.1 million at the end of June. CapEx amount to EUR 204 million, primarily related to the acquisition of Ballestra and ETEK.

The remaining portion was invested in development and scale-up of proprietary technology as well as in accelerating digital innovation initiatives. At the same time, we returned EUR 194.4 million to shareholders through dividends and EUR 81.1 million through share buybacks.

This concludes our financial review. I will now hand over to Alessandro for his closing remarks.

Thank you, Mariano. Thank you. As we look forward, we continue to see a supportive market environment reflected in a commercial pipeline exceeding EUR 61 billion without considering any potential activities without, let me emphasize this word, without considering any potential activities to rebuild energy infrastructures in the Gulf region. This set of opportunities is underpinned by powerful structural drivers from energy and food security to the increasing impact of geopolitical tensions on global trade and industrial resilience.

We are well positioned to benefit from this environment, particularly through our integrated offering. A significant portion of the pipeline consists of projects where Nextchem's proprietary technologies are combined with Tecnimont's engineering and execution capabilities.

We have also experienced an acceleration of final investment decision as evidenced by the EUR 8.4 billion of awards already secured in the first 7 months of the year, bringing us very close to the EUR 9 billion full year target we have set.

Based on the current negotiations, we expect that the order intake to exceed this amount in 2026. In particular, looking at the near-term outlook, we see further attractive opportunities in Latin America, especially in gas processing as well as in Europe across biofuels, mainly SAF and renewables.

Looking further ahead, both North and South America and Middle East as well are expected to contribute with opportunities in LNG, gas processing and fertilizers, including large-scale projects expected to be sanctioned in 2027 supporting the long-term growth of our business.

So just to conclude, our first half results demonstrated the strength of our -- the resilience of our business model. Steady execution, strong order intake and high diversified backlog enabled us to deliver a solid financial performance even in a complex operating environment.

Looking ahead, the mitigation measures already in place in the Middle East, combined with the close collaboration we continue to maintain with clients and partners are expected to sustain the project execution through the remainder of the year. Alongside the increasing contribution for projects in other geographies, they provide a solid foundation for achieving the targets that we have set for the E&C business unit.

We have also significantly strengthened Nextchem with the acquisition of Ballestra and ETEK. These businesses not only expand our technology offering, but are already enhancing our commercial reach and creating new opportunities across a broader customer base.

From the third quarter onwards, they will also start contributing to our financial performance, supporting Nextchem's growth trajectory in the second half of 2026. We also continue to selectively pursue additional M&A, particularly in the processing of minerals and metals in line with our strategic priorities. On this basis, we confirm our 2026 guidance.

And this concludes our presentation, and we are now ready to take your questions. So operator, please.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from the line of Kevin Roger of Kepler Cheuvreux.

I have two, if I may. And the first one is maybe, let's say, a bit tricky. Sorry for that, guys. But just coming back on the Middle East, you have given us a lot of clear information on how you manage in a way the closure of the Strait of Hormuz with the alternative route, the freight, et cetera. And we have seen a number of companies this quarter adding additional costs to their P&L, saying that it's subject to negotiation with clients, et cetera.

So I was wondering if you can share with us in a way those additional costs that you have seen on your side with the truck, the ports, maybe the storage, the flight, et cetera. Have you considered those costs in your P&L already? What has been the payments received from the clients? So just to understand up to now, what has been in a way paid by Maire in terms of additional costs and what has been covered by clients, et cetera? Sorry, you provided us a lot of information on how you manage the situation, but just to understand very well how it's in a way lead in terms of accounting costs, et cetera.

And the second question is maybe easier for you. In a sense, you upgraded the order intake guidance because you were telling us up to now around EUR 9 billion and now you are telling us at least EUR 9 billion. What kind of key opportunities do you have for H2 '26 orders that would be material on the order intake side, please?

So Kevin, let's start with your first question. First of all, let me say that I don't care very much about what the other contractors have said or what they are doing. I am more interested, of course, to our situation and to manage properly what is going to happen or what will happen in the meantime.

As you have already mentioned, we are talking about extra cost, which have been caused by extraordinary events beyond the possibility to manage them by the contractor. So apart -- and I have to say that apart from the contractual protection I have to confirm precisely that the behavior of the client located in that part of the world are extremely reasonable and cooperative. They recognize that the nature of the extra cost must be reimbursed.

So they have already opened a specific process aiming at collecting the amount that we have incurred. So we have no doubt that the extra cost that we have incurred and eventually we will incur in the future will be covered, will be reimbursed by the client. For this reason, we have no doubt and for this reason, the extra cost have not influenced the result of the period nor will influence the results that we expect to deliver at the end of the year. This is our position as far as the extra costs are concerned.

Then as far as the commercial pipeline and the opportunities that we see in front of us in the incoming, probably weeks, not months, weeks because some of them based on what has been already cleared clarified by the clients, they would like to sanction some of the project that we are working on from a commercial standpoint during the month -- even during the month of August. So we expect that most likely in the third quarter, additional projects, additional contract will be signed and additional award will be secured by our group. And which are, as we have already clarified during the presentation, some of them are located in Europe because there are a couple of projects very interesting because one of them relates to a major SAF plant located in Europe, whereby our expertise in managing these type of technologies will be extremely helpful. So we are confident that based on the ongoing discussion, this could be secured very soon.

Then there are another project in the petrochemical space, not a big one, because as you know, petrochemical infrastructures are -- have not the same appeal of as they were in the recent past. But there are still some specific projects concentrated on some specialties which we know very well how to execute them and we are looking carefully at the possibility to secure one of them once again in Europe on a E&P basis, engineering and procurement, leaving the construction to somebody else will not belong to ourselves,.

Then renewable. Renewable, very big renewable infrastructures are going to be sanctioned. The various potential clients have already secured the relating licenses, so everything has been already submitted. So now it's just up to them to decide when they want to start. So I'm really confident that putting everything together, the target of EUR 9 billion that we have set for 2026 will be -- we are very well-positioned to exceed even significantly the amount of our guidance.

So really, I am very, very positive. I am not mentioning, of course, other project, which for sure will be signed, will be awarded in the second half of the year, but they do not have a very big size because we are talking about the feed. So which means the first step of giant projects for which then the EPC project will follow, but not in 2026, will follow in 2027.

So in other words, in the second half of the year, most likely, we will be engaged in the first part of the engineering activities, which then will follow -- will roll over to the EPC, but only in the spring time, first quarter, second quarter of 2027. And we are talking about super giant projects that most likely we'll pay attention to them through alliances with other contractors based on the expectation also of the various clients. So this is what we have in front of us in the second half of the year.

The next question comes from the line of Massimo Bonisoli of Equita.

I have 2 questions. And one back to the Middle East, sorry for that. I will try anyway. Could you provide some color on the main challenges, if any, you are facing in negotiating the cost recovery with clients, in particular, on which cost are discussion mainly focused on?

And the second question on cash flow, on the operating cash flow, which was pretty strong in second quarter and with a very high conversion, likely enjoying some tailwind from net working capital. Can you give us some more color on cash flow generation for second quarter and net working capital?

Let me start with your first question and then hand over to the second one to Mariano. It's not a matter of challenging for the extra cost, Massimo. It is -- you have just to justify and to properly document them and then there are no discussion at all. The various clients, but in particular, one located in the area has already opened the process, which is based on 3 different streams.

The first one related to the collection, to the collection of the direct cost incurred. Of course, the major cost -- the extra cost related to the logistical cost because as you know, very often, we have been obliged to reroute the goods, which was expected to be delivered straight two ways, and then we have been obliged to reroute in another way. But to the extent you are able to document and justify those costs, there are no discussion. No discussion. So I don't see really any challenge in having recognized the coverage of those costs. Of course, then this is the first stream.

Second one relates to indirect costs. So the cost -- the extra cost generated by the increased general cost due to the conflict in the Middle East. But also in this case, to the extent you are able to prove and document properly, there are no discussion. We have already had this experience in the past when we have managed properly the cost associated with the COVID, when we have been obliged to leave Russia, all of them were very similar, very similar circumstances, and we have never lost even EUR 1. And considering that in these circumstances, the behavior, the attitude of the client is even more positive, I do not expect to face any major challenge.

Yes. And considering the net cash flow and the operating cash flow in particular, Massimo, you know that the financial discipline is one of our key issue in our strategy. And in those period, it is very, very important. But focusing on the change of the period, considering the amount of the award, the key amount was the advanced payment from the client and from the new acquisition, and they are very important, and we will try to maintain the same result also in the next part of the year.

The next question comes from the line of Jamie Franklin of Jefferies.

Thanks for the color on the Middle East. Just one small follow-on from that. Just wanted to clarify. You mentioned on Hail and Ghasha, rerouting of around 600 shipments. Was that all a 2Q event? Or is that split between 2Q and July so far?

And then my next few questions on Nextchem. So great to see the backlog reaching new highs at EUR 0.7 billion. With it becoming a lot more material now, just wondering if you can give us a sense of phasing, so roughly what percentage is for this year and what is for beyond? And is it still right to think of Nextchem backlog as being fairly short cycle with a sort of 18-month duration? Or does it have a bit of a longer tail as it grows further?

And then finally, just on the Nextchem M&A pipeline, you outlined 2 concrete opportunities at your last call. And obviously, ETEK ticks the box for one of those. So just wanted an update on the second one.

Let me start with the first one, and then I hand over to Fabio for the second one. The 600 cargoes which have been rerouted relates to all the shipments which took place up to now. So it is a very updated situation because of course it is a situation which is unfortunately is not still -- not yet over. So it is due to continue also in the following days unless the situation will improve dramatically. But I repeat, notwithstanding the situation, 600 relates to the cargoes that we have been able to manage since the very beginning of the geopolitical events up to now, up to yesterday morning. So these cover also July.

Let me take on the 2 questions on Nextchem. The first one was on phasing of Nextchem portfolio going forward, if I understood you correctly, whether the acquisition of Ballestra is lengthening it a little bit. Let me say that Ballestra is adding more or less the same kind of business that Nextchem already had. So licenses, PDPs, proprietary equipments, but it also has an element of E&P slightly more relevant than what Nextchem had. And some of their contracts might extend slightly longer than the usual 12 to 18 months, which is usual for Nextchem. So the blending of it might extend it slightly, not substantially, again, for this type of projects.

The second question was related to the M&A opportunities. You know that Ballestra is on phosphates and phosphates mean phosphoric acid, which comes from the same pattern where minerals are treated. So in a way, Ballestra is already active in the minerals and metal sector.

ETEK is probably at the opposite of the spectrum, whilst Ballestra is at the very early treatment of phosphatic rocks. ETEK at the very end at this point in time. which is the refining of RAEE what we call electronic waste or batteries. In between, there are a lot of additional opportunities because the value chain is quite long. And it entails a lot of growing industries.

I mentioned the electrification industry with what has to do with batteries, not only the recycling, but the feeding of batteries with lithium. It has to do with precious metals. It has to do with all the rare earths that you need to treat for the production of chips. So we are looking carefully at a couple of additional opportunities for M&A, one which is probably closer than the other. And we will get to those to inform you about those in due course. But yes, we are looking at other opportunities in that spectrum.

The next question comes from the line of Marco Cristofori of Intesa Sanpaolo.

Two questions, if I may. The first one is strategic, if you want. There are several geopolitical analysts that are saying that the current crisis in the Middle East is squeezing in the sense that should remain as it is for years. So it's a what if question. If this would be the case, what could be the strategy of Maire, exiting or reducing the presence in the area or I don't know.

And my second question is on Nextchem, which is gaining size and track record to be valorized in future. So if we -- if you can update us on the potential of Nextchem in 2027.

Marco, Alessandro speaking. Let me answer to your first question which is the most strategic one. I don't see -- in just a few words, I don't see any element which plays against the decision to abandon Middle East. Middle East was, is and is due remain also for the next decades, one of the most important markets for technology operators and contractors as well.

Despite what is presently going to happen, all the major companies based in the part of the world, they have not modified their investment program, or event better. Sometimes they have also accelerated their sanctioning of certain major investments. So unless the situation will deteriorate dramatically, which reasonably if is due to happen, it is not a problem just for the contractors. It is a problem for the entire world. So I truly believe that we have to -- we must be rational and not just, of course, not taking decisions of this nature, strategic one, just based on what is happening in just a few weeks' time.

So just to be short, I don't change the strategy to maintain our presence in the countries of Middle East. We, of course, we would like to diversify our presence in other areas of the world, but this doesn't mean we that in the same time, we abandon Middle East. We remain, we are there, and we will remain even in the future, and aiming at having a more balanced portfolio of projects in other regions of the world. But for sure, a significant portion will continuously remain in Middle East even moving forward.

As far as Nextchem is concerned, we will keep on maintaining a look at potential valorization of the company. But as we said in several occasions, it will have to be at the right time and at the right price. We've always said that there is a good time for everything. The company will keep on growing because of internal or external growth through M&A.

I think we have demonstrated to be fast enough to adapt to the market environment. Nuclear is definitely something which will take medium- to long-term to deploy for obvious reasons, while our entry into the metals and minerals market can provide very good growth opportunities in the short-term.

So we'll see how it goes. It's definitely something we have in the radar, but we are in no hurry. We will do it as and when the market will recognize the proper value to Nextchem.

At this time, there are no more questions. Therefore, I hand the conference back to Silvia Guidi for any closing remarks.

Thank you very much to everyone for participating in today's call. For any follow-up questions, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations department.

Our next earnings call will be on October 27, when we report our 9-month results. You can also find details on our investor conference after summer on our website. Thank you again. Have a great evening and a great summer break. Thank you.

That concludes our conference.

Hello, and welcome to Maire's Q1 2026 Results Conference Call. Please note, this conference is being recorded.[Operator Instructions]. I will now hand you over to your host, Silvia Guidi, Head of Investor Relations, to begin today's conference. Please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining Maire's First Quarter 2026 Financial Results Conference Call. My name is Silvia Guidi, and I'm the Head of Investor Relations.

Today, I'm joined by Alessandro Bernini, CEO; Mariano Avanzi, CFO; and Fabio Fritelli, Nextchem Managing Director. They will walk you through the operating highlights of our business units, followed by an overview of our financial results. At the end of the presentation, we will be happy to take your questions. Let me now hand over to Alessandro for some introductory remarks.

Thank you, Silvia, and good afternoon, everyone. We had a solid start of the year with operations performing well across all geographies, confirming the strength and the resilience of our business model.

Activity in the Middle East continued in line with the safety protocols agreed with our clients and the local authorities. Operational complexities were managed effectively and as a result, project execution continued without major disruptions. From a financial standpoint, this translated into first quarter revenues of EUR 1.8 billion and a 7.1% EBITDA margin, supported by the growing high-value contribution from Nextchem. Furthermore, last week, a record of EUR 187.6 million dividend was paid to our shareholders.

On the operational side, the strong order intake further reinforced by cloud, extending visibility towards 2030 and 2031. Indeed, we managed to generate EUR 4.8 billion in new awards in the first 3 months, including two multi-billion projects. This represents a book-to-bill of 2.6 in the quarter and over half of our stated target of EUR 9 billion in new awards expected in 2026.

Such a strong commercial performance has led to an increase in our backlog to EUR 15.7 billion at the end of March, representing a backlog cover of over 2 years of full speed production. Before we move into the details of the quarter, let me provide you with an update on our operation in the Middle East for the E&C business unit.

At the end of March, we have around 2,400 engineers and technicians deployed in the Gulf region. Our EPC projects in the area are largely in advanced construction or in the commissioning phases.

During the first quarter, construction activities advanced, thanks to the availability of key materials and equipment already delivered to site. In particular in the UAE project, the Hail and Ghasha gas development project, reached an overall completion of around while Borouge 4 is expected to start production in this quarter.

Project in Saudi and Qatar are also advancing through their respective construction and completion phases. Looking ahead, we expect activities to continue under the established security protocols, supported by a constant engagement with our clients to agree alternative solutions across logistics and procurement as well as the appropriate recognition of price escalation where relevant. Let me now leave the floor to Fabio for a detailed look at the STS operational performance.

Thank you, Alessandro, and good afternoon, everyone. Nextchem continues to demonstrate resilience amid the complex business environment, supported by our broad portfolio of technologies. As such, our backlog reached EUR 313.5 million at the end of March.

The order portfolio shows a diversified exposure to multiple value chains in fertilizers, specialty chemicals and materials, serving clients in around 4 key countries. This will be further strengthened by the contribution of Ballestra's portfolio of around EUR 270 million at the end of March, as the closing of this acquisition is expected in the coming weeks. In the meantime, we have already started working closely with the Ballestra team on a number of commercial initiatives, particularly in the Fertilizers and Metals and Mining segments. This collaboration is also expected to unlock cross-selling opportunities across our technology portfolio and may also evolve into the delivery of integrated solutions.

Let me now focus on the biggest project ever awarded to Nextchem, the EUR 485 million contract in West Africa. The scope includes licensing, process design packages and critical proprietary equipment for 3 large-scale nitrogen fertilizer complexes. The project, which is subject to a final investment decision, brings together Nextchem's proprietary hydrogen, ammonia, urea and methanol technologies, representing the first integrated application of Stamicarbon, GASCONTEC, and KT Tech solutions.

This is strong proof of the complementarity of our offering and cross-selling capabilities. Engineering activities have already started, highlighting both the strategic importance and the strong execution momentum of this landmark award. I will now hand it back to Alessandro for the operational performance of the Integrated E&C Solutions business.

Thank you, Fabio. So, the demand for our E&C services remained very solid. In a world where energy security and the widespread use of gas-based chemical products are increasingly critical. We secured EUR 4.7 billion of new orders, bringing the E&C backlog to EUR 15.4 billion at the end of March.

This is driven by our clients' willingness to continue sanctioning new projects in spite of the current temporary business and financial volatility. The projects awarded reflect our bread and butter activities across gas processing, petrochemicals and refinery upgrades worldwide with completion dates mainly expected between 2030 and 2031, further strengthening revenue visibility.

Now let me give you additional details on an important achievement that we reached recently through our subsidiary, KT Tech Technologies, based in Rome. We are pleased to have successfully completed the upgrade of the Rijeka refinery in Croatia. This was a EUR 550 million project, including the additional compensation agreed upon with the client while moving towards the project was executed in a challenging having progressed through the pandemic and the geopolitical instability, further confirming KT's proven capabilities. We are particularly proud to have supported our client in improving the operational efficiency and performance of its assets while also increasing Croatia's energy security and creating value for the country's economy through the involvement of local companies and workforce. So now it's time to hand over to Mariano for the financial review.

Our first quarter group income statement continues to reflect steady growth in revenues and profitability. Revenues reached EUR 1.8 billion, up 7.6% year-on-year, driven by solid project execution. EBITDA was EUR 131.2 million, up 15.7%, supported by higher revenues and improved operating leverage. This resulted in an EBITDA margin of 7.1%, up 50 basis points, also thanks to the contribution from Nextchem's higher value-added services. 

At the bottom line, strong operating performance combined with effective financial and tax management delivered a consolidated net income of EUR 76.7 million, up 19.9% with a margin of 4.2%. Group net income was EUR 67.4 million after EUR 9.4 million of results attributable to minority shareholders, mainly related to Nextchem and projects in a joint venture. 

Let's now analyze our financial results by business unit. STS delivered excellent growth with revenues of EUR 140.6 million, up 46.2%, an increase mainly driven by low-carbon chemicals and fertilizers. EBITDA rose to EUR 32.3 million, up 40.8% with a margin of 23%, reflecting a higher contribution of proprietary equipment in the product mix during the period. 

As a reminder, Nextchem's first-quarter results do not yet benefit from the consolidation of Ballestra. E&C revenues were EUR 1.7 billion, up 5.3%, reflecting steady project execution. Growth was driven by key geographies, including the Gulf, Nigeria, and Kazakhstan. EBITDA was EUR 98.9 million, up 9.3% with a margin of 5.8%, up 20 basis points. 

Let's now analyze the cash flow dynamics of the period. Our adjusted net cash position at the end of March was EUR 396 million, in line with the 2025 year-end figure. This was driven by a healthy operating cash flow generation of EUR 170 million, which more than offset the share buyback program for EUR 81 million and CapEx of EUR 23 million. Capital expenditure was mainly focused on the internal development and scale-up of proprietary technologies and on digital innovation initiatives. 

CapEx also includes the consideration paid for the acquisition of the remaining 16.5% interest in Concept, as well as an earnout related to the acquisition of GASCONTEC. This concludes our financial review. I will hand over to Alessandro for his closing remarks.

Thank you, Mariano. As we look forward, our commercial pipeline increased to EUR 61 billion at the end of March without considering anything related to the activities to rebuild damaged infrastructures in the Gulf region. In a global context marked by geopolitical tension, energy security and access to critical commodities such as fuels, fertilizers, and advanced materials remain key drivers in accelerating investment decisions. 

This is creating significant opportunities for both our technology and E&C services. We are seeing a pickup in specific geographies, including South America, which we continue to approach with selectivity and the risk-prudent mindset, as clients seek to monetize oil and gas resources and export commodities globally. Additional momentum is coming from gas monetization in Central Asia, LNG developments in the Americas, and refinery upgrades worldwide. 

As such, we remain confident in our ambition to secure around EUR 9 billion of orders this year, of which over 50% have already been booked. Going forward, the next awards are expected to start materializing in the next few weeks. Later in the year, we are also expecting new awards, including integrated projects, which will enable us to further broaden our geographical reach, as stated during our Capital Markets Day. In conclusion, our first quarter performance has been solid, confirming the resilience of our business even in a challenging and volatile geopolitical environment. 

Looking ahead, considering the limited, very limited effects on projects in execution in the Middle East, the group's potential involvement in the rebuilding of damaged infrastructures, as well as the increasing contribution from existing projects located in other geographies, the expected achievement of the previously set target for the E&C business unit is confirmed. 

The STS business unit's first-quarter 2026 results do not yet incorporate the consolidation of Ballestra Group, whose acquisition is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2026. Such acquisition, together with an expected pickup in the business fundamentals and market environment, will lead to higher revenues and margins, particularly in the second half of the year. 

We are on track with the expansion of our technology portfolio. In addition to Ballestra, we continue to selectively pursue additional M&A opportunities, particularly in the processing of metals and critical raw materials in line with our long-term strategic priorities. On this basis, we confirm our 2026 group guidance. So this concludes our presentation, and we are now ready to take your questions.

[Operator Instructions] The first question comes from the line of Kevin Roger of Kepler Cheuvreux.

I have, in a way, three questions, if I can. The first one, if you can bring us a bit of color on STS and the commercial dynamic in order intake this quarter at EUR 16 million. So any color on, in a way, this performance and the expectation for the next quarter, please?

The second one is still related to STS Nextchem. If you can make can you comment on the acquisition of Ballestra and the expected timing for the closure of the deal and if there is any delay or whatever?

And the last one is on the E&C business. You mentioned in the press release and in the remarks that if the situation remains closed around the Strait of Hormuz in the coming months, you can find new routes, new alternatives, etc. Any comment that you can share with us in what it could mean for the execution work on the ground? Does it mean that if you have to find new routes, the execution work could be slowed down because the process will be longer in terms of supply, procurement, et cetera? Just to understand a bit the potential outcome.

Let me Sandro, let me take the first two questions, which are on STS, and then I'll hand over to you for the third one. So you're right. In a way, you're right that the first quarter of 2026 has been below expectations in terms of order intake for STS. I may also say that this was partly foreseen as it is very much linked to a delay to this quarter on the award of two opportunities we have in an area which has been impacted by the current situation.

So there has been a slight delay in the award of these projects where the technology has already been selected. So we are expecting to recover what is left there shortly. As far as the timing of Ballestra, you know that the transaction is only formally linked to the receipt of the clearance from the antitrust authority on four of the countries in which the company is operating in. And today, we have received three of the four clearances. We are waiting for the fourth. So, we expect it to be concluded in a matter of days, if not weeks, the longest.

Talking about the projects, the E&C projects that we have in the in the Gulf region, having a reference to your question about how we can feed the properly the construction in the months to come. We have already stated during our presentation Kevin. You have just to reconfirm what we already mentioned.

It means that in particular all the last couple of quarter or 2025, we have almost concluded the procurement campaign for the project which are located in the Gulf region. All of them are in advanced stage of completion. All of them are already facing the construction phase and in order to feed properly the construct we have decided regardless the present geopolitical situation to concentrate, to accumulate care of the various construction sites significant dimension of materials, in particular those which cannot be bought in the country.

By the way, we are talking about countries, Middle East, whereby the supply chain is able to satisfy most of the procurement which is needed to serve the various project. With the exception of the most critical equipments. Some critical equipments has been already brough for Europe and the equipments have been already delivered on site.

So at least for the next three, four months' time we don't see any particular problem to serve properly the values more and more results. Of course in the meantime in order to be prepared we have already identified alternative of core results of delivery starting from Egypt then moving on from to Suez Chanel, Muscat, Oman, Fujairah or Saudi. So, all of them are alterative corridors which are available for the delivery of the receivable material which people will be give us necessary to have available on site not earlier than July, August. So we have a significant time available to wait for a more stabilized situation without facing any type of disruption in the meanwhile.

The next question comes from the line of Jamie Franklin of Jefferies.

Firstly, just on the E&C business. I wanted to clarify on the comment that you made regarding some awards starting to materialize in the next few weeks. And you mentioned that later in the year, you're expecting new awards, including integrated projects. CMD, you talked about the bulk of the awards coming not prior to the summer months. So yes, I just wanted to clarify on that point, please.

And then secondly, for Nextchem, could you please give us your latest thoughts on the potential FID timing for some of these larger awards? And I'm thinking particularly about this Pacifico National Award that was announced last July, there appears to have been some positive movement on that project. I believe it is now in the preconstruction phase. So can you clarify whether we can consider that project as having FID-ed or approaching FID and whether it will be added to the Nextchem backlog anytime soon?

Jamie, as you have correctly stated during the Capital Market Day, we have declared that we didn't expect to be awarded additional projects on top of the 4.7 already awarded at the time of Capital Market Day before summer. Useless to say that the present geopolitical situation has pushed the various clients to accelerate the final investment decision geography where we were trying to achieve new orders. All of them the various clients or potential clients, all of them, they have accelerated the process to take the final investment decision.

One of them have surprised ourselves because we were expecting not to face the potential awards before June, early July. Now they have communicated their intention to provide the letter of award within the next few weeks. So this is, of course, a very positive surprise also for ourselves, surprise in terms of award, but of course, we are well prepared if this success will be confirmed, we are prepared to start immediately with the relevant operational activities. We are not unprepared for the execution.

Then the opportunities that we are working on from a commercial standpoint I reconfirm that most likely nothing is due to happen before summer or during summer considering that some of them are located in regions where they are not used to spend a lot of time in summer for their vacation. So for sure, it is not excluded that something could be awarded even during the month of August.

And this reflects the investment appetite all over the world including spending from gas treatment, so gas monetization, petrochemical as well, but more than that fertilizer. Fertilizer for sure, thanks to the significant growth in the price of the commodity have suggested the various potential investors to accelerate their decision investment process.

And for this reason, we are talking about integrated projects because in case of fertilizers, we are able to serve the client not only with solution capabilities but also our as well thanks to the proprietary technology retained by Nextchem, we are able to provide the client with the technology solution for the ammonia for the urea granulation and melt. And just in case the clients want to transform or proceed with the methanol production, of course, we are able to serve the client also with this proprietary solution. So this in a few words is the situation that we have in front of us.

As far as the question on the landmark projects, which have announced Mexico ago and the West African project a few weeks ago, some elements for your consideration. What is happening is that clearly, they are aim for early engineering services in certain cases for PDP, but then the big amounts will only come with the payment of the license fees and the PDP, I'm sorry, and the proprietary equipment, which are clearly linked to the final investment decision. Going to Mexico, you're rightly saying that there has been a positive move just a few days ago in Mexico City, where the sponsor gathered all the various stakeholders. So all the companies were going to be involved there and there was the entire financial community that hopefully will finalize the debt for this project.

So we're talking about the IFC, a number of ECAs and that was included a number of players, European and Asian, which have been awarded the various EPC contracts. Needless to remind that the EUR 3 billion plus project requires some time for the finalization of the financing package. The sponsor has indicated a time line of the third quarter of this year, the end of this year for the closing of the financing package.

As far as the just a comment on what Sandro was saying on fertilizers. That's definitely the most remarkable indication we have received from the market in recent weeks also as Nextchem, there's a lot of interest on ammonia. There are a number of initiatives that were already in the mind of investors, but that are taking momentum because of the current situation and also because ammonia, especially in Asia, is being used as an alternative fuel to coal. So there's a double use, which is boosting demand. And we see a number of initiatives in that part of the world as much as in Latin America. So just to confirm what Sandro was mentioning on the execution side.

The next question comes from Massimo Bonisoli from Equita SIM.

Two questions. One on the Middle East. What kind of cost inflation are you currently seeing on projects in the region? And to what extent are clients willing to absorb higher project costs or potential delays? Do you see also potential opportunities emerging around the repair and upgrading of energy infrastructure? And how material could these opportunities be in terms of size and timing?

The second question on Nextchem. The 46% growth reported in Q1 is already well above the pace implied by your 2026 guidance, even before consolidating Ballestra. Assuming Ballestra will be included going forward, the implied growth in the guidance appears relatively conservative to me. So could you help us understanding what Nextchem growth would have been including Balestra in Q1 and provide some color of the drivers and the phasing of growth for the rest of 2026? And also, any update on the M&A pipeline for Nextchem considering the sizable CapEx budget for 2026 would be helpful.

Massimo, if you don't mind, I would like to start talking about a little bit your first question on the E&C, in particular with respect to the inflation cost and also the other question that you have mentioned. So inflation. I hope that you have understood that most of the procurement campaign which have to serve the project which are presently under execution in the area have been already satisfied, have been already completed. Another element that you have to take in consideration that the most significant portion of the procurement campaign which are due to serve the project in the area comes from China.

China has a very stable cost profile, and of course, we have decided an agreement with the client because you know very well that we can approach certain suppliers to the extent they are part of the vendor list of the client. So having granted the access to the Chinese market being a very competitive market and stable as well from cost-wise and sometimes, please do not forget that some projects have been financed by the Chinese system. So we are obliged to buy in China. For sure, from that part of the world, we are not experiencing so far nor we are experiencing for the next expected orders any major deviation compared to the present situation in terms of cost.

So another important portion of the procurement, as I was saying before, since we have the local content constraints which very often are, in that part of the world, they are not moving significant. For sure, there is a significant effect which comes from the higher cost of the fuel, but apart from that, we are not experiencing any major face because we will be obliged to alternative corridors longer, this will require additional time and of course, imply additional cost. But the reason behind is not a voluntary decision if this will be the case, we are obliged because of the extraordinary reason behind such a decision, which is the conflict. So it must be considered an extraordinary event.

And because of this reason, we are entitled to have covered by the client the additional cost, if the cost belongs to us , the duty to fully demonstrate and to document properly the extra cost that we have are going to be incurred, but apart from that, I do not expect, as already proven by the previous experience with the pandemic and the Russian-Ukraine conflict, that to the extent you demonstrate properly the extra cost compared with the normal situation that you have incurred, normally the client recognizes the additional cost. I don't know if I have talked a little bit about the repair cost, repair activities.

Frankly speaking, I am not in position to provide a flavor about the size which could be, which could be effect our business. For sure, we will be part of certain repair activities which originally had been designed and is not by our group. So presently, we are organizing ourselves in association also with other contractors, and whatever is needed to come out from this type of activity, this will be worked out over the next few weeks' time.

Because, of course, all the clients which have suffered damages for the present war activities, they are eager to have repaired all their infrastructure because we are talking infrastructure which were already in operation. They were already originating cash flow, so for sure the priority for them is to re-establish operations for those infrastructures and to reopen the cash flow from those industrial infrastructures. So for sure, I do not expect that the clients interested by these unfortunate events will take a long time.

I expect they will take a fast track decision process, and of course, we are studying the situation and in order to be prepared to immediately mobilize on the potential projects which we will be awarded . But, of course, presently, I cannot be very clear about the size and the consequences of our economic standpoint in our operation, but I think that we have just an improvement.

And then on the 2 questions for STS, Massimo. On the first one regarding the first quarter of this year and the projections, I would say the quarter is in line with what are the projections that been communicated to the market and the guidance we gave for Nextchem the contribution of Ballestra will kick in from this quarter, and it will be clearly adding to these numbers. But as you know, Ballestra has a slightly different kit of services if compared to Nextchem. They also include a portion of services in the E&P type of business, which in Maire is taken care of by the E&C side of the business.

Now these type of services have a longer life cycle than the usual services we do NextChem, which means that the EUR 270 million of existing backlog in Ballestra, which will have a longer time than the usual timing of our services. So at this point in time, we are confirming the trajectory of the EUR 700 million in terms of total revenues.

Let me also give you some elements for your consideration. Clearly, we are already working with Ballestra in order to understand cross-selling opportunities and potential upside going forward, but it's definitely too early at this point in time not having reached the closing to understand when these benefits will actually materialize.

Sorry, yes, the second question on M&A, we confirm what we have clearly anticipated in the Capital Markets Day. We have, we'll keep on looking at the market opportunities. At this point in time, we have two concrete opportunities we are looking at. One is in the recovery, the circularity of critical minerals. And the other one is in technologies for the treatment of metals.

And as you know, is, in our opinion, one of those sectors that will have interesting chances and opportunities for business going forward. So we confirm those two targets we are currently working on in terms of M&A.

The next question comes from Marco Cristofori of Intesa.

Congratulations for the results. Two short questions, please. The first one is on the cash flow, which was particularly strong this quarter with over EUR 100 million generation. Just to understand if there was any particular element which impacted maybe advanced payments from clients.

And my second question is what is happening below the operating line in the sense that you reported lower financial charges, at least compared with my expectation and also lower tax rate. So if you can elaborate on what can be your forecast for the full year?

Marco, let me start talking a little bit about the cash flow, and then I leave the floor to Mariano as far as net financial charges are concerned. Let me say, let me clarify, first of all, that in the quarter, we didn't monetize any advanced payment from the clients behind the new awards that we have announced.

So the EUR 4.7 billion equivalent which have been awarded to the E&C business unit have not yet generated have not yet expressed any advanced payment, which we expect to monetize in the second quarter, so in the present quarter. So as you have mentioned, despite the important cash out that we have financed the acquisition of treasury shares for an amount in excess of EUR 80 million. This has been counted as more than satisfied by the operating cash flow, which have been secured by the projects which are presently ongoing.

So nothing extraordinary from a cash standpoint, just the monetization of the normal milestones associated with the progress of the various projects.

Considering the financial proceeds, depends mainly on our financial discipline on all the projects and so on good financial position, cash position that means that the proceeds from bank accounts were better than expected, and considering the level of tax rate, the tax rate as usual in our business depends on the mix of the country we are operating. And so it is something that probably we will be able to maintain during the rest of 2026.

So around 30% for the full year?

Yes, more or less.

And the next question comes from the line of Francesco Sala of Banca Akros.

I got 2. The first one is I wonder outside the Middle East, what are the most active areas and the most active segments in terms of commercial pipeline, maybe not specific geography, but at least the area. And secondly, I wonder whether you have noticed any difference or at least a pickup in green ammonia and green hydrogen in the last few weeks.

Talking a little bit what we have in our commercial pipeline because otherwise, we have to talk up to tomorrow morning. But talking a little bit about the let me say, commercial opportunities that we are working on, as I was saying before, most of them are located in new geographies, in particular in South America. South America is particularly active in the gas monetization, which means gas treatment, gas separation and the gas utilized for feedstock to be processed and transformed into other commodities, mainly fertilizer considering that South America agricultural activities represent an important pillar for the local economy.

So for sure, South America is due to represent an important step in the growth of our portfolio in 2026, but of course, not only South America. As we have already mentioned, we expect additional further developments in the U.S. as a consequence of the wider involvement in the LNG project that we have already mentioned on behalf of Argent LNG.

Then there are also other geographies closer to Italy. And I am mentioning for a while some countries located in the western part of Africa. Northwest Africa could be another region whereby over the next few months, we could be able to get additional awards.

And as far as the potential projects on green ammonia, green hydrogen, I wouldn't say I don't have anything to report on that. But on green ammonia, Sandro just mentioned North Africa but let me add that there are a couple of geographies that are progressing aggressively on the green ammonia project. One is China. The other one is India. They are building the entire value chain to be able to produce efficiently.

Let me also mention that the number of projects we had in Europe that were shelved, let me use this acronym for the time being for cost reasons as soon as security of commodities became the main topic, we have seen an interest from those clients to restart discussions in a way.

The other area, if I may add to add to what Sandro said, where we see a lot of interest is in sustainable aviation fuel, led by Latin America, no doubt. We have received a lot of interest for our pretreatment technologies for agriculture and animal waste in that part of the world as much as in North America. So I would say that these are the indications we have received from our clients in the past weeks. And I don't know if I answered your question.

So thank you very much to everyone for participating in today's call. For any follow-up questions, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations team. Our next earnings call will be on July 30, when we report our first half results. You can also find details on upcoming investor conferences on our website. Thank you again and have a great evening.

Thank you. Thank you to everybody, and see you soon at the next conference call.

Good afternoon. Hello, everyone. Welcome to our fourth Capital Market Day. Welcome to our fourth Capital Market Day because this year is important, I would like to start reshaping energy. Let me start telling you that the current situation in the Middle East does not change our trajectory. It makes the title of this event stand out even more.

And now I would like to start to take you in our time machine. Many years ago, in Italy, there were women and men entering the office of Montecatini every morning with the belief that research ingenuity could change the world. It was the company that first introduced industrial chemistry in Italy and entering in the nuclear energy domain. In that place, new idea and processes were tested to produce nitrogen and fertilizer based on phosphate, including the necessary hydrogen, a revolution that transformed the Italian agriculture.

It was not only fertilizer. Giulio Natta from Politecnico di Milano worked closely with Montecatini. He developed new catalyst and process polymerization. In Ferrara, Moplen was born the plastic material that changed industries and society. Thanks to that, he won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1963, the only Italian to receive this award so far.

That period was fascinating, not only for technological innovation. [Foreign Language]. Today, Maire stand us a global engineering platform, combining the outstanding technology of NextChem with the ability to build complex plants all over the world through [ Tecolt ]. What make us unique is our ability to preserve the vision and value of those few people. Now shared by more the 11,000 worldwide, our group. Today, the world needs industry more than ever.

The world needs energy, new material and processes, innovation to combine economic development and environmental responsibility. The energy transition is changing shape. The geopolitical balance sheet are shifting, as you can see on this day, unfortunately. Global industry evolves according to the new scenario and opportunity emerge in new markets.

Such Africa and America this morning was announced an important contract by NextChem in Nigeria. Our evolution in the new space on chemistry, energy demand and digital competence make us more attractive for the new generation of engineers. Every era requires new solution. And today, we are the answer of this challenge. Our plan is simple: double our revenues, almost triple the EBITDA compared to 2025. We have been demonstrated to be able to exceed our own targets.

We are 5 years ahead on the data we presented from that stage on this stage in 2023. This is the fact, it's a reality. Our sustainability, we are accelerating our journey toward our carbon neutrality by 2029, also addressing material and circularity and water management as the strategic topics, targeting 90% of the water recycle in our construction site by 2035. We will get our goal, bringing new technology on board through acquisition as we have been doing since the beginning.

Only a few weeks ago, we further expanded our offer into inorganic chemistry with the signing acquisition of Ballestra Group. We are entering a strategic sector at the service of metallurgical and mining industries. We are also expanding our fertilizer offering with the phosphorus product. We invest huge money, EUR 360 million in the last 3 years, and we have an ambition plan EUR 1.4 billion for acquisition and CapEx in the next 10 years. We have several opportunity open on the table that we expect to conclude by the first half of this year. Confident they will contribute in our future growth.

And in any case, we remain open to larger strategic transaction. Moreover, we are enforcing our competencies recognized at the global level. Let me say with Tecnimont, which has been delivering complex projects around the world for years, we're entering in a new market. As an example is our adding offer in LNG sector with the agreement already signed. We have also designed this important design and construction with the new technology available and with modernization at the center. The name is [ Cosimont ] is the new name of our way to industrialize the plant execution.

It is the modern way to doing engineering for construction, designing and execution with a strong use of artificial intelligence for increasing efficiency, improving working condition, safety and performance. Talking about NextChem, our technological innovation arm. We aim to expand first in our circular solution into recovery or treatment of precious metal and rare earth, thanks to the new recycled processes of the industrial waste like solar panel and lithium batteries.

Second, energy vector solution, expanding to use methanol as a fuel for mining sector. Also in the aviation, decarbonization is no longer of choice. Our advanced CIF SAF technology will serve a demand, growing by over 20% each year up to 2040, equivalent to more than 150 new plants totally. And the innovation doesn't stop here. NextChem took a clear step also in the nuclear sector launching Next-N to develop innovative solution for conventional island related to SMR and AMR top technology starting from engineering service and to plant development. And across our pillar, artificial intelligence is integrated with our industrial know-how as an engine to amplify and accelerate our results.

At the center of this development, we have put our NextBrain platform, enabling industrial AI solution into new internal and external working processes, not longer only automation, but autonomous operation to serve our clients.

Have you mentioned me, let me take my space then, adding something concerning innovation. Our Green Innovation District in Rome is almost ready as once was the Donegani Research Center of Montecatini about 100 years ago, building a bridge between our heritage and our future. The Green Innovation District will be the beating heart of our technology development activities, a place where pilot plans will demonstrate our advanced technological capabilities and the commercial development of our innovations.

Indeed, thank you. A place where our all stakeholders will be directly in touch with the new technology of NextChem. They will also appreciate our past, present and future to our archives and amazing experience center. The district will create opportunity for the young talents. We are launching also an EPS academy to train new professional with a target to arrive more or less at 200 students per year enrolled after high school.

Thank you, [ Fabrizio ] [Foreign Language] [Presentation].

Thank you, [ Fabrizio ] and welcome, everyone, to our 2026 Capital Market Day. It's a great honor, really great honor to stand before you today at our headquarter here in Milan. And of course, a heartfelt thank you to everyone which are joining us online. So before we move into today's agenda, let me briefly address the current situation in the Middle East by stating the most important thing, all our people and as well as the workforce of our subcontractors are there, but absolutely safe. So our project in the Gulf region continue to be executed in a stable and safe operating environment.

Of course, we activated our safety protocols immediately. And we remain in constant contact with the local authorities, the embassies of those nationalities, which represent the workers which are cooperating with us and of course, the organizations of our clients. So -- but we will provide you more color in the following sections of the presentation. So now it's the moment to look at how far we have come and rise our eyes towards the future, which is more important.

So the world is demanding new energies, as our Chairman was saying, new ideas, new solutions and more importantly, the courage to bring them to life. So let's see together how we are going to do it. Since 2023, Maire has adopted a strategic moment built on 2 complementary engines. Each playing a vital role in our growth. NextChem serves as our technological engine, structured as an independent organization within our group, very important, is an independent organization. And it operates through a short-cycle model that drives innovation, global reach and of course, higher margin. Tecnimont acts as our execution engine, focusing on the delivery of multi-annual EPC projects through an asset-light model, a model which provides flexibility.

Together, they form a robust platform designed to engineer the energy solution the market needs today and more importantly, in the years to come. Our dual engines enable an integrated approach built to thrive. By combining NextChem's technologies with Tecnimont's execution capabilities, we offer a true one-stop shop that reduce complexity for the clients. Moreover, when project development expertise is needed, we leverage on our method development arm, a pool of experts in project financing and structuring.

With end-to-end delivery from the initial idea to the final operating asset, we take accountability across the entire value chain. This is how Maire competes and succeeds. Indeed, our strategy has delivered tangible results. Over the last 3 years, we doubled our top line and delivered a consistent increase in profitability, profitability at all levels. In 2025, group revenues reached EUR 7.1 billion and EBITDA was approximately EUR 500 million, both exceeding our guidance.

EBITDA margin reached 7%, up 100 basis points from 2022, not easy. Remember, not easy. This remarkable result has been driven by solid project execution, operating leverage and NextChem contributing 1/4 of the group EBITDA. Most important, we tripled our net consolidated income, reaching EUR 285 million in '25, our best result ever, the first time in the life of this group.

The outstanding economic performance has been matched by strict financial discipline. Over the past years, our strong operating cash generation has allowed us to invest in our future. In 2025, CapEx exceeded EUR 68 million. If we include the acquisition of Ballestra Group announced at the end of 2025, which is expected to close and also the cash out is due to take place in the second quarter of 2026. This commitment rises to over EUR 190 million.

At the same time, we have been returning greater value to our shareholders. Today, the Board of Directors has resolved a proposed dividend distribution of EUR 188 million, up 64% year-on-year on a per share basis, while the payout ratio has increased from 55% last year to the present one, which is 66% and we are doing all this while keeping a sound balance sheet, ending 2025 with EUR 395 million in net cash.

Our people made these excellent results possible. Today, our group counts 10,800 professionals of 85 nationalities -- 85 nationalities, working across more than 50 countries. The diversity is our real strength, a full range of skills, all working together to deliver the plans of the future.

In 2025, we added over 1,000 new colleagues and enhanced our people competencies by more than 700,000 hours of training. So looking ahead, we expect headcount growth to continue, of course, but at a pace which reflects the benefit of a further increase in the adoption of artificial intelligence, as you will see later on in the following section. Thanks to this workforce, we are equipped to deliver the backlog in our hands and meet the rising market demand.

Talking about our backlog, the backlog reached EUR 12.7 billion at the end of 2025. In addition, this week has brought additional EUR 4.7 billion order intake, including 2 multibillion projects. These new awards provide solid support to this year's order intake and contribute to increasing our revenue visibility, very important. Equally important is where this backlog come from. Most of the projects acquired in the past 2 years have been sanctioned were in the Global South. These are fast-growing regions, combining resources abundance with pragmatic environments. In these areas, Tecnimont has successfully delivered several plants in the past decades, spending from gas processing to petrochemicals and refinery upgrades. At the same time, in the Global South is increasingly focused on the valorization of new feedstocks from renewables to biomass and waste.

This creates tangible opportunities to enable an economically viable transformation of these resources through NextChem's technologies. These processes are taking place at a time of significant development in the energy landscape. Giovanni Sale, my friend. Now we'll go through how these scenarios are evolving and the opportunities they are creating for Maire. Giovanni?

Thank you, Alessandro. Thank you so much. As you said, the world is demanding new energies. So let's look at how the landscape is changing with the driving forces and how we can benefit from this evolution. If you look at today's world's trends, global population growth, GDP expansion and rising living standards are all driving a structural increase in energy demand.

This pattern is expanding beyond developed countries. Currently, under 45% of the people use more than 80% of the global energy. But rising consumption in emerging economies will significantly affect the future energy demand. But this is just the baseline. At the same time, a new force is unfolding, the exponential increase in power demand driven by electrification and AI. Let me explain it with a simple analogy using an image that is quite familiar for the financial community.

Do you remember Alan Turing? I'm sure you do. It appears on the 50-pound nodes and money talks. Well, Alan Turing machine and enigma, the blueprint of computers and today, AI processor are based on the same concept. The Turing machine defined the logic of computation, simple operation, endlessly repeated, able to solve any problems. [ Modern ] AI system do the same, but in an entire different scale.

What once could have taken years to do now happens in a nanosecond -- like the occurrence of a supernova or better, let me say better. It's like to compare fleet stones with a supernova. And this computational capacity require a massive amount of energy. So the picture is clear. The challenge of that is energy addition.

Over the past 15 years, installed capacity has already expanded at an extraordinary pace. And the next decade will mark another phase of acceleration. Installed capacity reflects the maximum potential out of the energy system. In other words, it's scale. That scale is set to double again faster and faster than before. Well, the structural expansion of the system is generating an unprecedented need for infrastructure and material to meet the growing energy requirement worldwide.

Again, in dollar terms, the addressable market for Maire is enormous, and we are prepared to seize these opportunities as Fabio and Alessandro will explain later in details. Moreover, the implication are critical as this expansion require mobilizing every available source to guarantee security of supply, affordability and resilience of the system. As you know, the system requires stability and renewable cannot stand alone. And today, this role is fulfilled by gas, LNG and over the longer term, it will be by the new generation nuclear as a base load.

Furthermore, electrification is not just about power generation, but enabling the industrial system to produce tangible components. This make chemistry essential for both stable grids, batteries, storage and mobility. Then material became the main constraint. But at the same time, what truly matter is the ability to process them. At the same time, all this must be happened within the physical limits of our plant, we cannot forget it. Scaling energy, chemistry and material require operating with a global carbon budget of our planet to ensure its environmental protection.

To sum up, this is a new energy paradigm based on 2 pillars. First, the necessity for a multisource system, a system where traditional and new energies coexist to serve ever-growing and different industrial needs and regional peculiarities. Second, a multi-shape and multispeed scenario. Countries, sector and value chain are progressing at different paces and through different pathway, driven by economic priorities, policy frameworks and last but not the least, access to capital. Indeed, geopolitics, energy security and industrial policy are key drivers. Geoeconomic confrontation is today at its highest level in decades, and energy agendas are increasing defined at regional and national level rather than as it was in the past through shared international networks.

Economies are moving forward around differentiated pathway driven by their own strategic priorities -- recognizing operating with this fragmented paradigm is essential to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy in a setting of rising demand. And here, we are offering will play our role. Maire as one global technology and engineering partner for our client, continuously evolving and expanding ahead of market. In fact, [ address ] the challenges required partners capable of operating with flexible across different context, delivering reliable and sustainable solution while managing complexity at scale.

And this is where our DNA comes into play as our Chairman said in his introduction. Remember, since in 2018, NextChem has been building a unique technological platform to serve the low carbon and circular industry. Now we are further expanding it in the new chemistry of strategic materials such as phosphorus, sulfur and fluorine. This technology will enable us to process minerals-related metals at the time when metals are the new oil is a strategic issue.

And we are developing the strategic competencies and supply chain also for the new generation nuclear as per our NextGen vision. Tecnimont history is rooted in large complex projects, delivered across geographies and market cycle. And we are now ready to apply this capability beyond our heritage carbon-based chemistry for oil, gas and petrochemicals. Crucially, we do all this through an asset-light, people-driven model. Our value is created by engineering know-how, execution discipline and ability to scale expertise quickly. Last but not the least, in this model, the support from [ AA ] plays a fundamental role. AI is not substitute for expertise. It's a force multiplier that allow us to deliver with greater efficiency, quality and reliability across our operation.

This is how we benefit from pragmatic solution powered by AI. This is how we're reshaping energies supported by our technology. So let me hand over to Fabio, who will take you through the latest amazing, fantastic development at NextChem. [Presentation]

Thank you. Thank you, Giovanni, for your valuable insights. And good afternoon, everyone. 2025 has been my first year as Managing Director of NextChem. It has been a crucial year for our industry, a year that has redefined the meaning of energy transition, as we all know. We have operated in a challenging scenario, and we navigated it with discipline, focus and strong results.

But moments of disruption also create opportunities, and we were ready to seize them. At year-end, we announced the acquisition of Ballestra Group, a strategic transaction that expands our technology portfolio in inorganic chemistry, the chemistry of metals and minerals. It broadens our client base and enhances our R&D capabilities, a concrete step forward fully aligned with the strategic pillars that underpin NextChem value proposition. Indeed, NextChem value proposition was further strengthened in 2025.

Our portfolio of market-ready technologies has grown to over 50. And with the addition of Ballestra, we will reach over 80 technologies. At the same time, we have further strengthened our service platform beyond licensing, beyond engineering services, beyond critical proprietary equipment, we are now increasing recurring revenues and client retention by expanding into digital services and catalyst sales. This proposition, allow me to say, is unique in the market. We have also continued to elevate our distinctive process design capabilities, thanks to our teams. At closing of the Ballestra acquisition, we expect to exceed 1,100 professionals. The combination of an unparalleled set of technologies and top-tier talents allows us to deliver tailored solution from feedstock to final products.

Most importantly, we deliver economically viable and bankable solutions. In this way, we create value across evolving market conditions. The proof is our backlog, which reached EUR 366 million at the end of last year. This will be further strengthened by the contribution of Ballestra's order portfolio of around EUR 315 million, again at the end of last year. Now let me take you through what and how we are unlocking a new chapter in our technology offering. Let's start with fertilizers, which are needed to feed a growing population. This sector is shaped by the need for higher efficiencies and sustainability.

Today, we offer the most comprehensive fertilizer technology portfolio in the market. We were already the market leader in urea. In parallel, we have strengthened our ammonia platform, and we now have a suite of solutions fully integrated with our hydrogen offering that covers all ammonia production scales up to 3,500 metric tons per day. This is attracting strong market interest as confirmed by the EUR 485 million contract announced this morning for 3 world-scale nitrogen fertilizer plants in West Africa.

And we are expanding in phosphate and potassium, reaching a 95% coverage of all fertilizer products. A market share where we see continued growth potential, supported by approximately EUR 200 billion of expected investments over the next 10 years, driven by new plants, of course, as well as by replacements and revamping of existing assets. With this wide array of technology, NextChem is now uniquely positioned to deliver specialty solutions tailored to soil needs. Let's watch this in a brief video. [Presentation].

Energy vectors. Let's move to how we move the world. Here, the challenge is delivering solutions that are environmentally friendly and produced in an economically viable way. The vision is clear, the opportunity is huge. And in the near term, momentum is strongest in sustainable aviation fuel and clean energy storage. But looking ahead, ammonia and methanol hold meaningful promise as next-generation fuels. Yet the pace of development will be shaped by the evolution of global regulations and the deployment of the right infrastructure. NextChem's portfolio is positioned to capture existing and emerging market opportunities. And we are further strengthening our positioning through sulfuric acid for the metals and mining industry, where we see a strong potential and commercial synergies and through fluorine for lithium batteries to expand in the electrification value chain. Let's learn more about this in the following video. [Presentation].

Let's now look at how to make sustainable and circular materials. The key drivers are the need for more biodegradable plastics and recycled materials that match virgin quality, fast emerging trends with strong growth prospects that we are ready to capture with our solutions. And as indicated by Alessandro, the global South is becoming an engine of circularity. This is where momentum is building as many countries have started realizing that waste valorization is a real opportunity.

Most importantly, we are taking meaningful steps forward. We are providing solution for bio-based detergents, and we are advancing metal circularity to extract critical and precious metals from electronic waste. Let's see together what it means. [Presentation].

Moreover, last year, we launched Next-N, a major step forward in unlocking the potential of new generation nuclear energy. Next-N will develop the conventional island and balance of plant needed to convert nuclear energy into electricity. It will provide engineering services to nuclear technology providers, design critical equipment and support the development of the new nuclear supply chain. Next-N is a core enabler of clean, reliable power for data centers, industrial uses and the production of carbon-neutral chemicals through our technologies. Let's now see how we grow. And NextChem, M&A is a strategic lever. We are extremely selective. We only look at technologies with a readiness level of 5 or above.

And we either acquire validated concepts and turn them into industrial scale solutions or we buy established technologies and turn them into global champions powered by our commercial strength. This approach increases the probability of success and reduces time to market. Our track record speaks for itself. We have made 5 acquisitions since 2023. And there is more to come as anticipated by our Chairman before. Talking about technology development, we are true enablers of innovation. Our capabilities are grounded in our hubs where we transform breakthrough concepts into market-ready solutions. We operate a one-of-a-kind pan-European R&D platform. Let's look at it with Paola.

Thank you, Fabio. That's completely true. Let me show you how. NextChem technology scale-up and demonstration model is built around a network of specialized R&D centers across Europe, including around 20 pilot plants, an impressive innovation engine. Each site plays a specific role along the innovation journey, allowing us to test and develop technologies efficiently from concept, validation, demonstration to industrial deployment. Let's take a closer look.

In our center in the Netherlands, we work on ammonia, urea, nitrates and specialty fertilizer technologies. And depending on the specific project requirements, we collaborate with third-party test sites and universities. In Rome, we leverage on our long-standing capabilities to further improve our technologies for hydrogen production and carbon capture, but we don't stop here. The ecosystem is growing even stronger, thanks to the acquisition of Ballestra Group that brings 2 major technology development centers in our group.

In Milan, where we already work on polymers and sustainable fuels, we have now an R&D center focused on surfactants and soaps with activities ranging from process development to scale up and continuous improvement of technologies already in commercial operation. In Basel, Switzerland, another R&D center is specialized in gas liquid reaction and advanced process technologies in the fluorine chemistry, enabling the energy transition, thanks to its application in electrification systems.

Building on this solid foundation, we come back to Rome, where we are building our Green Innovation District, the core of our sustainable innovation, which will be ready and operating this year. The Green Innovation District will host laboratories, several pilot facilities and will be open to collaboration with third parties. It will allow us to test emerging technologies at an early stage and prepare them for industrial application. Together, these centers cover the entire technology development journey from innovation to commercial deployment and beyond. Fabio, back to you on stage.

Thank you. Thank you, Paola. Let me conclude by looking at NextChem's financials. We continue to grow at a strong pace, a remarkable result achieved in a challenging environment. Over the past 3 years, we have delivered a threefold increase in both revenues and EBITDA, closing 2025 with a top line of EUR 495 million and an EBITDA margin of 24.7%. If we look ahead, we expect a fivefold increase in revenues, exceeding EUR 2.5 billion in 2035.

Profitability is expected to remain in the 22% to 25% range, depending on the service mix, driving EBITDA to EUR 600 million in 2035. To fuel this impressive growth, we will continue to invest in shaping the technologies of tomorrow. We are planning to invest up to EUR 750 million over the next decade, balancing organic investments with selected bolt-on M&A to accelerate our trajectory. M&A is expected to represent 40% to 60% of our investments, targeting EBITDA-generating businesses that are value accretive. Where possible, we will implement deferred payment mechanisms tied to tangible and measurable performance as we have done in the past. 30% to 40% of our CapEx will be allocated to technology validation to take proven concepts to industrial scale.

The remainder will be dedicated to recurring R&D to keep investing in continuous improvement. With that, I will now hand over to Alessandro, who will walk you through the updates of the E&C business unit. Alessandro...

[Presentation].

So, now we are moving into [indiscernible] world. And since we are talking about the execution of our group, it is imperative to throw away the jackets. Tecnimont [indiscernible] we remain unwavering in our commitment to raising the bar in our engineering, procurement and construction services. With more than 1,500 plants delivered globally, Tecnimont continues to lead in sectors with higher barriers to entry.

Our dedication to operational excellence grounded in rigorous selectivity, tight risk control and world-class [ HAE ] performance is the fundamental pillar of our value proposition. Today, we are redefining EPC innovation through AI and industrialized solutions to build the next generation of plans. Building on this premise, let's look at how AI is reshaping the world of energy services. Over the past decade, our digital foundation has built a robust data backbone, enabling the adoption of AI at scale. In the past year, we have almost doubled AI users to over 7,000 people.

This scale-up has already delivered tangible benefits. In 2025, we redirected around more or less 1 million engineering man hours toward value-added work. Through continuous process digitization and by engaging our people, we have developed several proprietary AI agents and embedded them into our workflows. Building on this momentum, we are now launching -- NextBrain's, a competence hub of around 200 AI internal experts dedicated to further developing and deploying AI agents across our organization. NextBrain's is positioned to become a business engine, driving further improvement in process design and process delivery.

It will also support autonomous plant operations to reduce OpEx for plant owners. Let's look at each EPC activity focusing on the key innovative elements. Of course, we have to start with engineering where every project begins. Backed by almost 9,000 experts across all disciplines, our teams draw on a strong heritage, enabling seamless integration of the best available technologies into high-performance, reliable plants. Our designs are optimized for modularization and package breakdown, accelerating project delivery.

And AI supports project queries, bid estimation, increasing quality as well as unlocking efficiencies. Now let's turn to procurement. For procurement, we are further optimizing our processes through AI-enhanced forecasting and advanced vendor intelligence. We implement a timely buy-in strategy by placing orders as early as possible to mitigate price volatility and secure cost accuracy. Where needed, we are diversifying our supply chain in key regions to secure materials in a cost-effective way and meet the local content requirements. With sustainability always in our mind, in 2025, around 90% of our procurement spending was conducted with ESG screened suppliers.

Furthermore, we secured a new capacity in China and established a direct cooperation with global shippers, boosting our logistic management. Finally, let's look at construction management. We worked with trusted subcontractors who build under our coordination. Our priority is maintaining our top-tier HSE standards while preserving the environment.

But the key initiative this year is the launch of our program designed to standardize and industrialize how we build the plants of our clients. Our transformation will imply moving activities from the site to specialized shops, ensuring the utmost quality, boosting productivity and reducing exposure to harsh climate conditions.

Modular construction enables safer assembly and the shorter schedules while advancing towards the next leap, which is the physical AI, which means robotic welding inspection, automatic material handling and as well as HSE monitoring. The implementation of this model is expected to increase competitiveness in the market landscape where efficiency and timing of project execution will remain the key drivers in customer decision-making processes.

So now -- it's time to take a trip around the world and watch how our projects are becoming a reality. [Presentation].

I hope that you have appreciated from the video that our projects are advancing rapidly. In particular, [indiscernible] in the UAE which has reached 60% completion at the end of last year, believe me, an extremely remarkable result. Talking about Middle East, let me provide some more details about the impact of the current situation on our operation. On site, operations are currently continuing without any disruption.

And we are not foreseeing any significant impact, at least for the time being. However, this remains a rapidly changing situation, and we cannot do anything else that monitoring closely the situation. And of course, we stand ready to implement a contingent plan if needed. Having said that, we do not foresee any major economic consequences caused by potential disruption to the supply chain or to our operation as all our contracts include force majeure conditions.

Based on the information currently available, our EN sales backlog strengthened by the contracts awarded this week is providing, as you can see, a significant revenue visibility. Expected revenue coverage for 2026 is approximately 85% to 90%. And looking ahead, we are well positioned to navigate the current business environment with coverage of around 60% to 70% in 2027 and from 40% to 50% in 2028.

Awards derive from opportunities. And LNG is a great opportunity we are pursuing as already indicated previously by our Chairman. It is a natural extension of the capability we have built in gas combined with our expertise in managing complex projects. By leveraging a modular development model and partnering with the best-in-class O&M such as Baker Hughes, we are entering in this market with, in my opinion, a smart approach.

This is my friend. LNG capacity is set to grow, driven by further development in upstream activities. We intend to play our part, starting with the Argent LNG initiative in Louisiana, where we will work on the front-end engineering design as well as on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permitting. This early involvement is very strategic because once both activities are completed, we will act as an EPC integrator, gaining access to LNG process integration and benefiting from a fast learning curve.

As a result, we will build repeatable capabilities enabling us to replicate similar LNG project in other geographies with reduced execution risk and improved time to market. In this way, LNG becomes a selective diversification for Tecnimont. However, who better explain this project than Jonathan Bass, our friend, which is the Argent LNG CEO.

Jonathan carried away.

Our project is located in Port Fourchon, Louisiana, the hub and center of America's energy export. We really required picking the right partners that would agree to bring in the project on budget, online and on time. And that really began with its suppliers and then it's EPC. The EPC was the hardest, the absolute most difficult selection that we needed to take. We interviewed over 10 EPCs, spent months and months going through the process. And in fact, meeting Tecnimont's team was a -- not even a question. After 4 days it was -- I felt like I was married to the right group. It was a group that fit like a glove Tecnimont's ability to modularize and weave in the balance of plant into our project is what makes it very unique.

Most EPCs' goals are contrary to the goals of a developer. And those goals are to make projects last longer so that they can build more and not turn the keys over to the developer, whereas Tecnimont's goals are to actually complete a project faster on time, on budget and turn the keys quicker so that the customers can get the benefit. And the larger goal between Tecnimont and Ardent is to create and duplicate a modularized cookie-cutter solution that we could then go in and place around the world in duplication and securitize an energy solution for most of the world.

I'm looking forward to the years ahead with Tecnimont and its team. I find them to be the best of the best. I would not have partnered with anybody else. I have partnered with all of the best companies in the world between Baker Hughes, Honeywell, GTT and ABB. I'm not -- wasn't going to hire and partner with a company that was not of an equivalent level, and I consider Tecnimont to be the best EPC in the world today.

Believe me, we have not paid him. It is -- it's an honest representation of the situation and of the very good relationship that we have with them.

So also thanks to the addition of LNG and other power initiatives. Our pipeline has increased by over EUR 2 billion, so up to about EUR 61 billion. At the same time, there continues to be a strong concentration in gas monetization opportunities, particularly coming from the Global South. So we are pursuing a concrete and viable energy transition opportunities in selected geographies, including North America, Europe, South America as well as the market has recognized that -- and Europe, of course, as the market has recognized that the progress must be affordable and realistic.

All in all, we see an EUR 9 billion potential order intake this year thanks to the benefits of our integrated offering and a sustainable sustained structural demand. We just announced the EUR 4.7 billion worth this week with most of the balance to be materialized in the second half of the year. While the timing of awards depend on our client decision-making process, it is complete and of course, it is completely outside our control. We managed to acquire all the main projects that we target over the last few years. So we remain confident about our ability to transform this potential into reality also this year.

So now let me conclude this section by look at the financials for the E&C business unit. Building a multibillion-dollar award secured in recent years, we doubled revenues between '22 and '25, reaching the EUR 6.6 billion. We are successfully delivering the larger-scale projects, and this is reflected in our profitability. Since in the 2025 we have been able to close the year with EUR 378 million of EBITDA, which represents a 5.7% margin we end at the same time, up 30 basis points year-on-year. Looking ahead, we expect to reach approximately EUR 10.5 billion in revenues by 2025, with an EBITDA margin of ranging between 7% to 8%.

Going forward, CapEx will be a key enabler of Tecnimont's next phase of growth. We are planning cumulative investments of EUR 550 million to EUR 650 million over the next 10 years. These investments are front-loaded and structured around 3 categories. The first one, which represent 20% to 30% relates to EPC innovation, including digital and physical AI to improve execution. Then about 40% to 50% relates to the investment, the co-investment through MET Development, which materialized through minority stakes in integrated projects targeting double-digit return with a short exit horizon. And the remaining, the balance relates to recurring investments supporting emission reduction and climate resilience.

So to wrap this up, let's see how what we have presented translates into our 10-year strategic plan. At the end of the day, I am more familiar with this type of presentation since I have spent more or less the previous 40 years of my professional career as a CFO, but, however.

So let's start with the 2026 guidance, which I believe a lot of you are eager to know. So based on what I have mentioned earlier and provided [ MET ] no significant deterioration will take place in particularly in the Middle East geography. We expect group revenues of 7-point -- ranging between EUR 7.5 billion to EUR 7.7 billion, assuming also the full year consolidation of the recently acquired Ballestra. STS revenues are forecasted to grow by around 40%, reaching EUR 670 million to EUR 700 million. EBITDA profitability is expected in ranging between 22% to 24%, reflecting the evolving service mix in this business unit.

E&C revenues are expected at EUR 6.8 to EUR 7 billion, predominantly covered, as you have seen from the previous slides, covered by projects under execution. EBITDA profitability for this business unit will continue to increase, reaching 5.8% to 5.9% driven by -- predominantly by operating leverage and the ongoing efficiencies. As a result, group EBITDA is expected at EUR 545 million to EUR 575 million, with the profitability ranging between 7.3% and 7.5%.

To support this growth, we plan to invest EUR 250 million, EUR 300 million, primarily to expand our technology portfolio as already detailed by Fabio. This includes, of course, the closing of Ballestra in the second quarter as well as additional selected bolt-on acquisitions, which we are currently pursuing.

We expect the year-end net cash to be in line with the amount that we experienced at the end of 2025. After taking -- but after taking into consideration our ambitious CapEx plan, the proposed dividend of EUR 188 million, which will be paid in April, and the EUR 79 million of share buybacks, which we have just recently completed.

So now let's move on to longer-term group projections. So based on what we presented today, we are now setting more ambitious, more ambitious targets once again. So we are projecting revenues at EUR 9 billion and EUR 9.5 billion and an EBITDA ranging between EUR 740 million to EUR 860 million by 2030. So it's the midterm, the half of our 10 years' plan. So in the first 5 years -- in the first years of the plan, we are now expecting on average to reach our target 2 years in advance compared to the plan that we have presented last year.

In the longer term, we will continue on our upward trajectory with over EUR 13 billion of revenues. We will also focus on profitability acceleration, of course, targeting a 10% to 11% EBITDA margin within 2035. This will be supported by the increasing contribution of STS expected to reach 45%, 45% of the group EBITDA as well as by operating leverage and the ongoing efficiency coming predominantly from the E&C business unit.

To support our growth, we are enhancing our investment plan with up to EUR 1.4 billion of cumulative CapEx over the next decade, front loaded in the first 5 years. Cash generation will remain solid with adjusted net cash expected to reach around EUR 2.1 billion in 2035. This strong operating cash flow will fully support our investment strategy while allowing us to maintain attractive dividends with a 66% payout ratio. We also remain committed to further optimizing our balance sheet, ensuring we prefer -- we preserve financial flexibility throughout the plan.

So well, as we are approaching the end of our presentation, let me sum up how we are reshaping our energies. First, we are doing it through what we do, exactly what we do. We are expanding NextChem technology portfolio into inorganic chemistry for fertilizer and critical raw materials. We are also strengthening our proposition for new generation nuclear energy. At the same time, Tecnimont is widening the market served, including LNG, leveraging our leading capabilities in managing complex projects.

We are also reshaping our energy through how we do things. We strengthened R&D capabilities at NextChem to accelerate innovation and scalability. And we introduced innovative initiatives across our E&C business unit to advance execution and competitiveness. All of this is underpinned by our integrated approach, combining technologies, engineering and execution into a single differentiated value proposition for our clients. And this is increasingly powered by artificial intelligence as an enabler. Our digital transformation supports a better engineering, faster execution and higher efficiency across our operations. In a world -- in a world with competing for energy, these drivers will support the delivery of a leading performance and value. Indeed, we do deliver value.

I hope you appreciated the growth that we experienced since our first Capital Markets Day in 2023. The EUR 219 million total dividends we paid -- probably it is necessary to turn the slide to the next one. However, I was talking about the value that we have created predominantly for our shareholders. So EUR 219 million dividends already paid cumulative over the last 3 years' time, which doesn't include the EUR 188 million that we are going to pay over the next few weeks, next month, the month after -- in April.

So we remain committed to delivering year-after-year accelerating this value creation increasing returns at last but not least, further enhancing our technology business. So my recommendation is just staying tuned with this growth story. Stay with us.

[Operator Instructions] So I believe we have the first question.

Marco Cristofori from Intesa Sanpaolo. Congratulations for the plan. Two questions. The first one is on EPC business. Hail and Ghasha giant project will come to an end by the end of 2028, but you are still forecasting a solid growth up to 2030 and onward. So this should be based on strong order intake in 2026, but also in 2027. So my question is, if you see any other giant projects such as Hail and Ghasha coming, and when is expected?

The second question is on NextChem. My personal belief is that nuclear would be crucial for increase of production of electricity. And you entered the business not a lot of time ago. So just to understand when you expect to see the first economical result from this new division?

Let me start, Marco, for a very interesting question, by the way. It is -- with the first question that you have raised. Are there any giant or supergiant projects in our pipeline? The appropriate answer is, yes. There are at least 3 super giant projects, which are due to come on stream in the '27, most likely early '28 because before sanctioning the EPC, there will be the FEED, which for a project of such a magnitude this will require at least 12 months' time. So the real EPC will come on stream a little bit later.

But due to the fact that most of the -- most reputable contractors, of course, including ourselves, we are -- all of us, we are engaged in -- already engaged today and in the next years in the execution of a remarkable backlog. The various clients for the time being, at least, they have expressed their willingness to evaluate the proposal, which will come only from temporary joint ventures. So it is in the mind of all the clients, not just one, all those clients, which are behind this supergiant project. They have already gained the idea that in order to share their execution risk, it is much better to a point not just one contractor, but a pool of contractor normally 2 are more than enough.

So in order to answer properly to your question, we are, of course, already working on those commercial initiatives in association with the other international contractors. And even if we will not be awarded alone, this doesn't mean that this should create a problem for the growth that we have designed for the years to come. Instead to have one single project, which could absorb a significant portion of our workload that will be more than one.

But this will not affect the growth that we have designed for 2026, 2027. And even after having successfully delivered Hail and Ghasha, we will continue on the same stream. Just to consider that the already existing backlog today, if we include the recently awarded project, 2028 is already covered for more than half of the revenues that we are expecting to generate in 2028 and even a portion in 2029.

So -- but it is not -- of course, the story is not over. As you have, I hope, appreciated, we have targeted EUR 9 billion in the 2026 in terms of new acquisitions. So it means that half of the expected awards will come on stream, will be part of our backlog in the second half of the year. Some of them will come from -- not necessarily the traditional province of the energies, so Middle East will come from U.S., as we have already mentioned before, South America. South America presently is -- has engaged already a significant journey for the valorization of the gas fields, in particular, those located in the Vaca Meurta gas fields.

And of course, in order to exploit properly, valorize, monetize the production of such a natural gas, it is necessary, of course, to keep the gas field with the traditional gas separation units, gas treatment unit, and then, of course, if you want them to transform the gas into valuable commodities, of course, you have then to realize ammonia eventually and fertilizer. This is the story that we are working on, in particular in South America.

North America, I'm referring to the LNG initiative that we have just mentioned, which, for the time being, of course, we are just talking about the very preliminary phase, which relates to the FEED and the FERC, which are the 2 most critical steps for this project. But immediately after, since the client has already secured the financing, this will move into the real EPC1, whereby will not take the execution risk, but we will provide our knowledge, our capabilities to integrate all the actors that we will be part of this game. So very, very critical as our friend, Jonathan Bass has, I believe, has clearly represented.

But just to mention some of the opportunities that we have in front of us, of course, some others, the super giants will be expressed once again by the Middle East market and all of them relates to the gas monetization. Gas is due to remain the pillar for the energy of the future, at least in the medium term as well as for energy production or as a feedstock to be converted into other type of commodities.

So I truly believe that we have the problem to choice, which type of project we have to concentrate on and not having to be worried about the impossibility to get a new project. So really, I am really very, very optimistic for the short term and the medium term as well.

On nuclear energy, you're posing a very hot question. In terms of -- let me give you what analysts say in terms of long-term projections and estimates. In 2050, gas will still be the predominant source of energy, renewables will be second, and nuclear should be third. But the point is that it's the type of energy that is really of interest to this group. It's a reliable and geolocated source of energy that can feed industrial complexes. So yes, we are betting on small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors with a number of partners.

In terms of revenues, we are not on the nuclear island itself. We are on the balance of plant and all the engineering for the critical materials, which are needed to manage nuclear power. And we are already as a matter of fact, billing engineering hours to the clients or the partners we are doing this exercise with.

And let me make a personal note on Europe. If you consider that it takes at least 2 years in terms of legislative process to adopt nuclear energy and that only France and a couple of small countries in Eastern Europe are adopting nuclear energy, we better start the sooner in Europe because things might be ready by the end of this decade or early the next decade, if we don't start with the legislative process, then we will have to look at United States or other geographies. But yes, we are very confident on the technology and on the potential.

Kevin Roger from Kepler Cheuvreux. I have 2 questions, if I may. The first one is on NextChem. You are guiding us for a significant growth by 2030 from roughly EUR 500 million to EUR 1.2 billion. Just to be sure, in those -- in this gap, what is organic and inorganic, just to understand what you have included in this big gap?

And the second one is, we just mentioned Hail and Ghasha. Hail and Ghasha is supposed to be completed in '28, but you are at 60% right now. And a quarter ago, you were telling us 45%. So it seems that the execution is going quite very well. So if you can share with us a bit of more color on how do you stand on the execution versus the plan and what it could mean for the marginality of the project, please?

Let me start with the first question on how much 2030 is made of organic growth and how much is coming from acquisitions. It's roughly in the 70% to 30% -- 75% to 30% to 80% range for what we already have and the remainder at that time coming from acquisitions. But these acquisitions, considering that 2030 is tomorrow is of companies or technologies, which we have already identified in a way. So we are already working on that. It's an important part. But if you look at the success we have been having in the past 5 years, starting with [indiscernible] and then GasConTec and then now Ballestra and all the other companies we've bought, I think we have a track record of being able to plug successful companies into our system and make a multiplier of what they are already doing when embedded into a wider portfolio of technology.

Let me use the example of today in Nigeria, which is something I will never stop thanking my colleagues for. It's the combination of technologies coming from 3 companies within NextChem. It's KT -- it's KT Tech, Stamicarbon and GasConTec. And all these companies have decades of history. So you can imagine they are very proud of where they came from. They wear their t-shirt very tight. They strongly believe in where they come from. But then they were the NextChem head. They've worked together and convinced the client to buy 3 technologies instead of one, and this is cross-selling. So I do really believe that when you plug in our ecosystem, a new company, you have to multiply the numbers they are making going forward.

You are once again interested in Hail and Ghasha. I don't know why because it is also negligible project. As you have appreciated, Kevin, we have been able to deliver an extraordinary performance up to the end of 2025. 60% completion is really a great effort of our organization, but we have succeeded. We are still a little bit in advance compared to the early schedule that we have agreed with the client. So we are very happy about what we have already delivered.

What is going to happen moving forward? First let me provide you with another element of comfort -- despite the turmoil, which is affecting presently, the region -- we do not expect to face any major consequence in the execution, not economics at all because I have stated -- we are, of course, to the extent there will be economical consequences. We are in a force majeure situation. So everything will be covered.

But for the time being, the project is not only Hail and Ghasha, but all the other projects that we are going to complete in that part of the world, they are progressing business as usual. Of course, we have to pay some additional attention, of course, the behavior of the various workers must follow specific disciplines, protocols. But apart from that, there are no specific consequences. So everything is progressing business as usual.

And as far as the potential problems associated with the logistic issues since the difficulties in the Hormuz channel, let me say that due to the extremely important procurement campaign that we have been able to conclude in particular in 2025 and the related material has already delivered on site, we have presently 4 or 5 months -- more or less 5 months of materials already available and delivered at the site. So only to the extent that this situation is due to last for a long, there could be eventually some delay in the delivery of the goods.

But since we have already in place a plan B, but not only ourselves, the client as well, all the other contractors working in the area have already identified additional route, which will make it possible to feed the activities without any interruption. There will be an additional cost eventually. But of course, we will report to the client. And eventually, of course, we will obtain the recognition of those additional costs.

How Hail and Ghasha is due to evolve? For sure, 2026 is for the entire 12 months period. Everything will be concentrated on the construction, as I was saying before, engineering delivered, materials already on site, of course, now, but already in 2025, we have started with the construction. But as you have appreciated already from the picture that we have reported previously. So everything will be concentrated on the construction.

We expect to close 2026 with a completion rate approximating 90%. And then the remaining 10% will be executed in 2028, which, by the way, imply also the commissioning. So commissioning is a very sensible part of the project, which does not create any major volumes, but is critical from a technical standpoint. So volumes will be predominantly delivered with the construction in 2026. And then the balance in 2028. Of course, all of us, we are concentrated in maintaining the schedule that we have depicted, which should make it possible to deliver the plans a little bit in advance compared to what has been defined contractually.

Francesco Sala, Banca Akros. Congratulations for the plan. Just two. The first one is on the commercial pipeline. It's quite different compared to the one you presented 1 year ago, especially Americas is more than twice as much than it was 12 months ago. So I wonder what has changed, and whether you I think the competitive environment is going to be different from the one of the markets you normally operate in.

And the second is on the CapEx on the E&C business. Also sizably bigger compared to the plan you presented 12 months ago and then especially interested in the so-called minority investments, whether you can shed some light on this aspect?

Yes, you are right. You know our group very well since a long time, and you have correctly noted that we have rerouted a little bit our commercial pipeline and our target -- short-term target differently from a geographical standpoint compared to a few months ago. Why? I am still confident that those regions on which we have concentrated our attention since a few months ago, and I'm predominantly talking about North Africa, which I have not mentioned so far, but it's just because the company, which is located in -- I'm talking about Sonatrach, in particular in Algeria.

The company has offered a significant reshuffling in terms of management. The new management now is going to prepare the strategic plan, including, of course, the investments, which is the most important element for an energy company. And we have agreed that as soon as they have completed their strategic plan and shared with the government, they will meet with us. And together, we will review together the possibility if they will decide to invest something, of course, to be once again with them. So for this reason, we have been obliged to -- not to consider in the short term opportunities coming from North Africa.

In the meantime, thanks to the agreement that we have entered with Baker Hughes, which provides a mutual benefit because, of course, if they want to sell their cool box modules, of course, it is necessary to rely on someone who is able then to integrate their modules with all the others equipments, which are needed in order to have finally a liquefaction plant. And since we are already used to cooperate with Baker Hughes, for example, in Algeria, Hassi R'Mel is one of the best example of the cooperation that we are -- we have in place with Baker Hughes. But then, of course, Baker, which at the end of the day, is Nuovo Pignone, remembering that we, of course, to the extent, it is possible we prevail and we prefer to refer to the Italian supply chain. And so together, we are already -- they are partnering with us in many other projects in many other geographies.

So this, for sure, has created an additional opportunity. We have humbled a little bit. We have shared internally with our organization that it was possible to work on this stream. And on top of partnering with them, we have already in our hands the first opportunity. So U.S. comes from this type of process, partnering with Baker and then working together because partnering, it is a memorandum of cooperation well, of course, extremely interesting. But it's more interesting, well, in this type of cooperation concretize on already an existing project.

So for this reason, I rely a lot on this type of cooperation because we have already a project, which we can concentrate the mutual efforts. But on top of that, there are many other opportunities coming from this stream. They have -- they, I mean, for the time being, we rely on the capabilities of Baker Hughes to propose their solution. And of course, we will be with them. They have a stream of opportunities in many other geographies, including predominantly Africa and U.S. as well. And U.S., of course, we are there since a long time even if we have not executed giant projects in the county, but sophisticated project for sure, a project, which will produce -- the plant which will produce blue ammonia is going to be delivered shortly.

And then Africa is -- could appear to be strange, but it's our bread and butter. A significant portion of our organization has spent many years in that part of the world, spending from sub-Saharan Africa to East Africa and North Africa as well, and so we are well equipped. So really there are opportunities, which we have not considered if you have raised this -- should have raised this question 6 months ago, probably my answer should have been completely different. And now I am really confident that the LNG stream could represent a significant pillar for our growth moving forward.

Then geographies. As I was saying before, Latin America for a lot of reason, politically, economically, in terms of macroeconomic, we have decided to stay aside from that part of the world until let me say, the end of 2024, early 2025. Now of course, we have to acknowledge that the situation locally has changed significantly. The situation, at least for the time being, of the country has improved a lot, and it has been also confirmed by the willingness of super major energy companies like ENI, Shell that they have decided to invest a huge amount of money in their liquefaction infrastructure, floating predominantly, but you know better than anybody else that in order to have the gas ready to build liquefied must be treated before. And this is the reason why, of course, now we are addressing our interest on this type of projects, which replicate more or less the same nature of project that we are presently executing in Kazakhstan. Tengiz project is very similar to what we could be requested to execute in Argentina.

Then there are also other investors, which have -- has already available significant quantities of their own equity gas. And for the time being, the best solution to monetize those production is to use the gas as a feedstock and then to convert it into fertilizer because Argentina, one of the most important elements of their economy is still the agricultural activity. So they don't need to export. They can rely also on the domestic market.

So -- but this is just to mention something which have come onstream rapidly and very heavily over the last 6 months' time. And of course, since we are well prepared to do it we are working hardly on them, and we will see if our efforts will be converted into new orders, most likely in the summer season, not before. It will be around September, August or September, October. This will be the period whereby I expect to be able to get new projects on top of the 4.7% that we have already secured today.

Share [indiscernible] minority investments.

Excuse me, of course, I forgot your question about the CapEx. You are right. It is not so different, the amount that we have decided to invest over the next decade in the E&C business unit compared to the past. Now we have decided -- we have, say, a more clear idea on how to address this amount of money, which, by the way, also for E&C basically, it will be mostly concentrated in the first part of the plan. A significant portion, as I was saying before, it will represent the minority stakes that we are prepared to enter in those projects with our own equity when the economics of the project satisfies our minimum requirement in terms of returns. And the conditions will make it possible then to monetize this minority stake as soon as the infrastructure is ready.

We are working on some of them, and it is a very efficient solution because, in particular, this is the most appropriate strategy, which combines the possibility to have involved the EPC machine. But at the same time, it is a great -- it provides a great support also to spread in the market our technological solution. So with just for reporting purposes, we have allocated the minority stake investment in the E&C division, but it could be shared between NextChem and E&C because I repeat, mostly relates to those initiatives whereby we can provide the client with our technological solution. And then, of course, we propose ourselves as the execution of the EPC contract.

Then this is the second -- the most important element of our expected CapEx. Then of course, as we have tried to explain also the EPC machine has to evolve as primarily because sometimes the clients that requires a different process for the EPC contracts, which I'm talking about modularization and possibly the introduction, progressively the digitalization and also the artificial intelligence, which will make possible to deliver a plan to the client, which will not require thousands of people to manage the operation, but it can be restricted to a few well trained and skilled people, which we have the possibility to manage efficiently the plan.

Of course, it is necessary to develop the appropriate tools. As we have explained, we have an engineering hub more than for the time being, restricted in brackets, restricted to 200 people, which are delivering -- preparing and delivering AI solutions, which could become our instrument, which will announce the efficiency in the construction or will become products, which can accompany the traditional market proposition for the benefit of the clients. So of course, we have to invest in order to be ready as soon as possible to propose something different, innovative that compared to the recent past.

So these are the most important pillars which are behind the EUR 500 million, EUR 550 million that we have targeted for our investment in the next decade, but I repeat will be predominantly concentrated in the first 5 years of the plan.

Massimo Bonisoli from Equita. Thank you very much for the interesting presentation. My first question is on the order intake. If you can provide more color on the EUR 4.7 billion you have announced today on the -- those projects. And frankly, quite surprised by the presence of a petrochemical project, considering the current very low margins in the petrochemicals.

And the second question for Fabio, on NextChem. You have quite a sizable budget on CapEx, especially for M&A. So I'm curious to understand what are the end markets or technologies, if they are add-ons to your existing technologies like the P&K for nitrogen fertilizer or maybe completely new technologies like LNG you announced last year?

Maybe I can let Alessandro breathe a bit and start with the second question, and then I'll leave you. Okay. Then you're right, it's a sizable amount of money to be invested in the next years. Just don't forget that what you see this year includes also what we have to pay for Ballestra, so EUR 130-plus million will have to be paid this year. They have been contractualized last year, but they are meant to be paid this year. We are looking at -- and by going straight to your point, I would say that on fertilizers, we are probably in a nice spot for the time being. Now you have seen from the presentation we are covering 95% of the entire technology array. So in a way, it's a very complete offering.

But let me take the opportunity to say that with Ballestra, we have also entered the inorganic chemistry, the one-off metals and mining, where we see a hell of a lot of potential, rare earths, the mining activity has to do with massive investments, which are due to 3 reasons. One is security. Everybody nowadays want to have control of critical minerals, which are needed for the defense industry, which are needed for the electrification, which are needed for AI. So there's -- and right now, we are talking of a market which is heavily concentrated in China. China has more than 50% of the rare earths and more than 90% of the processing capacity.

So it will have to be built somewhere else for a number of risks. And there, it's a sector you don't see much, but what is already in Ballestra in our projections. It's very new. So if I have to guess on where to bet next, I would say that's a very promising sector, very close to chemistry where we should look with more attention. And we mentioned we have been looking at fuel sales again for the shipping industry, and that's something which, in my opinion, will be a part of those investments we see going forward. I would say we don't have a specific sector or subsector looking.

There's one that we mentioned, which is the recovery of metals from waste. We have been working so far on plastic. And no matter how good are our engineers every time you recycle plastic, you try to shoot for virgin quality, but you never there. And every time you have to restart. With metals, it's a different story. You can recycle them thousands of that. It's always metal. And we're talking of those you have seen in the slide. And I think there's a real hit in value then, and this is one of the sectors where we are betting in, so metal recovery.

I was reading today an estimate in Europe, if we manage to start recovering waste efficiently, approximately 20% of the minerals needed for new batteries and new magnets are potentially coming from waste. So again, another huge market. And I could spend hours, but I will stop here because yes, that's -- I guess, I gave you an answer.

Regarding your first part of your question, Massimo, I believe that, over the years, you have appreciated that our normal behavior when releasing information about new orders are fully comprehensive. Of course, provides all the details, name of the client, geographies, scope of work, of course, the amount and so on.

So easy to answer to your question, if I would have been in a position to provide them, I would provide them. So just to say that, of course, we will provide all of you with all the details, most likely over the next couple of weeks as soon as certain formalities will be over, which now we are still in process to formalize with the client. But considering that, the order has been already provided has been already committed to our group. We couldn't do anything else than providing the market with this very limited information, which relates predominantly to the size of the magnitude in terms of value of the contract that we have in our hands. But where they will be executed, who is the client and the relating scope of work, apart that from one of them with the specific dedicated press release, we have already anticipated that we are talking about a hydrocarbon petrochemical infrastructure.

Then as far as the rest is concerned, please be patient for a couple of weeks' time, and then I will be, for sure, more clear compared to what we have provided so far. Petrochemical business for sure for the time being, at least, I'm saying for the time being because as you have seen something could change overnight considering what has also happened recently. But in general, we are not relying too much at least for the next couple of years, 3 years' time on giants petrochemical projects. There are, for sure, some potential petrochemical contracts coming from either Middle East, Southeast Asia, as well as North Africa, which are peculiar relating to specific commodities, which very niche project, but are there. And I believe that at least for some of them, we are well positioned.

But just to let you know that no additional petrochemical projects are targeted within the EUR 9 billion that we have targeted for 2026. 2027 onward there will be -- I truly believe that there will be already some sign of recovery also because considering the timing to take the final investment decision, the client has to move a little bit in advance, but we will materialize in the end of 2027, early 2028, not before that. This is the situation.

Alessandro, if you allow me, I will try from a different route. So considering your constant talks with the clients and constant discussion with the clients in the Middle East, did you spot any change in attitude considering the trading environment. So the awarding activity, the tendering activity. So everything is unchanged so far.

Absolutely. Absolutely, Massimo or at least whatever has been changed compared to the recent past, it was the result of dairy internal different strategy. So it is not the result of the recent events. It was -- I was talking, for example, also recently about Aramco. Aramco has changed dramatically their investment appetite, but not because they were aware that in a few weeks' time, they should have -- happened this business story, because they have changed their investment strategy, rerouting a significant portion of their investment in different geographies. But nothing has been affected, but what is going to happen in that part of the world.

And it has been confirmed also because if I you remember last -- today is Wednesday, so on Monday, we have received an invitation to bid from Abu Dhabi, for example, for the super-giant project, whereby, of course, we will try to do our best, once again, not alone, in association with somebody else. But it is a real sign of their investment appetite, which is not -- which has not changed because of what is going to happen. Based on the discussion we had with the top management of the companies based over there, all of them, they expect that this situation hopefully, of course, I'll say, hopefully, it's not due to last for long. Of course, too many interest in that part of the world, which must be preserved. So for sure, everyone, of course, is doing its best in order to maintain the present situation under control, not interrupting any type of activity, of course, extremely carefully.

But in terms of future, they are not modifying at all their investment strategy. So everything, business as usual, at least today. Then whatever is going to happen, nobody knows. And -- but I don't believe that there will be any significant differences moving forward.

It's Michele Baldelli from BNP Paribas. On the energy market, can you elaborate a little bit the figures. So what is the addressable market? How much is the value of the contracts awarded each year in the LNG market. Where are you going to target this market in the sense that I know that on the larger projects, there are probably just a couple of companies that are really competing in. So are you targeting the smaller part of the market, if you can provide some color?

Second question relates to the joint venture. As you said, the future projects probably requires you not to go alone. That would be a second partner. So I was wondering digital step change compared to your past? Or you already worked in this way? And in case there is anything already in the backlog where you work in joint venture or with other partners?

Well, talking about LNG is a little bit earlier to talk about the opportunities for the future, for sure. If I have to rely at least on a minimum stake, very limited stake of the pipeline that Baker Hughes has already is trying to push all over the world. It is something, which probably we will not be able to satisfy all those opportunities. But before engaging in additional project, I would prefer to enter [Foreign Language]. I would try before engaging into additional projects, I would like to concretize and to deliver the project that we have been already -- for which we have been already engaged.

So of course, probably in the second half of the year, we will enter into a more detailed and mutual strategy with Baker Hughes by identifying which project could fit with our possibilities and our strategy. But however, in the years to come, I expect that at least one project per year could be part of our backlog. So significant part. It will be very, very important because now we are starting as a pure EPC integrator, and in a project which is due towards something close to $14 billion, which is the project Argent LNG, our portion could range between a couple of billion dollar up to EUR 5 billion, EUR 6 billion to the extent will take care for the execution of the gas treatment, which, for the time being, has been committed another contractor, which is the technology provider, which is also used to deliver the modules.

But importantly, they are -- they have a workload, which doesn't make possible for them to cope with the schedule of this project. So of course, we are ready to do it. So all in all, this type of projects whereby at least for the time being, we do not enter into the cool box. So in the technology which makes possible to transform the natural gas into liquefied gas because this is a technology which belongs for the time being to Baker Hughes, but it's an open art. So to the extent we learn working together, then subsequently and of course, in the long run, we could play an owner without relying anymore on other technology providers. We can do by ourselves to the extent, of course, we learned the lesson. And this is one of the goal that we would like to achieve working together in particular in the first project.

Then I don't remember, excuse me, the second part of the question.

JV set up for our project?

JV -- excuse me, sorry, sorry, sorry. Yes, it is not a surprise we have already, in our backlog, some projects, Kazakhstan, for example. Kazakhstan, both of them, both Silleno project, the petrochemical unit, as well as the gas treatment unit, both of them are going to be delivered under the umbrella of a JV with other contractors. Both of them, we are the leader of the JV because the other partners have recognized that Tecnimont has a superior knowledge, which is the only one able to lead to coordinate also the other activities.

And so moving forward, it is something which is not our own choice. As we did for Hail and Ghasha, also Hail and Ghasha at the beginning, the idea of the client was you have to aggregate yourself with somebody else. And then finally, we succeeded in order to get it alone. Now all the projects, the super giant projects and for super giants, I'm defining them, those projects which exceed $8 billion, $9 billion, they are requesting to have to deal with a joint venture because, of course, they are -- based on their evaluation, we cannot dispute. They deem more appropriate to deal with an aggregation of competencies, which reduce the execution risk. It's their evaluation. So we cannot do anything else other than to find in a reputable partner, possibly share with them the fact that we maintain the leadership because we prefer to use our processes to introduce our methods and to lead the venture and not depending on the decision of somebody else. But it is something which the market is requiring. So we have to cope with them.

You call it.

Someone -- I believe that I saw a message that it is Spritz time. So thank you very much for being with us and be so passioned to being with us for the last couple of hours. So now there is the most interesting portion of this event, which is the Spritz time. Thank you.

Good day, and welcome to Maire Nine Month 2025 Results Conference Call. My name is Sergei, and I'll be your coordinator for today's event. [Operator Instructions]

And now I'd like to hand the call over to Silvia Guidi, Head of Investor Relations. Please go ahead, ma'am.

Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining our call on Maire's nine months 2025 financial results. My name is Silvia Guidi of Investor Relations. I'm joined by today's speaker, Alessandro Bernini, CEO; Mariano Avanzi, CFO; and Fabio Fritelli, NextChem Managing Director. They will walk you through the operating highlights of our business units for the first nine months. This will be followed by an overview of our financial results. At the end of the presentation, we would be happy to take your questions.

Let me now hand over to Alessandro for some introductory remarks.

Thank you, Silvia, and good afternoon, everyone. The nine months of financial performance confirms our solid fundamentals. Over this period, we achieved a remarkable growth in both revenues and profitability, supported by an excellent project execution, operating leverage and high value-added services. All in all, revenues increased by around 27% year-on-year. While the EBITDA margin reached 6.8%, also thanks to the increased contribution of the Sustainable Technology Solutions business unit. At the same time, our financial discipline and strong cash generation enabled us to close the nine months period with EUR 342 million of adjusted net cash.

Moving to the operational side. We secured EUR 5.8 billion of new awards in the first nine months, more than replacing the revenues generated in the period. The geographical spread of our EUR 13.9 billion backlog clearly reflects the success of our diversification strategy in both business units as will be detailed in the following sections.

Projects in E&C are well distributed across the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia while NextChem footprint is spread to an even wider extent. The delivery of our backlog is supported by our best-in-class organization, which will have a further strengthening in the past nine months, reaching 10,500 people and adding many new engineers. Our strategy allows us to anticipate the future project needs, secure critical skills and leverage digital tools. Also thanks to continuous training to maximize efficiency and foster a culture of safety, inclusion and innovation.

On September, we celebrated our people-driven Maire's first ever global open day, opening the doors of 23 offices across 4 continents to employees and their families. More than 6,000 people attended, the strengthening our sense of community and deepening connection with local ties.

Let me now leave the floor to Fabio for a detailed look at NextChem's operational performance.

Thank you, Sandro, and good afternoon, everyone. Sustainable Technology Solutions business unit continues to successfully navigate the current complex business environment, thanks to its wide and diversified portfolio of innovative technologies. Over the nine month period, we secured approximately EUR 325 million in new awards, bringing the STS backlog to around EUR 388 million. This result has been driven by a comprehensive technology proposition, mainly in the low carbon energy vector business line. The awards cover a wide array of solutions from technology licensing and high value-added services to provide an equipment supporting progress in fertilizers, hydrogen production, low carbon fuels and waste-to-chemicals worldwide.

Looking forward, we remain optimistic about the STS outlook supported by a demand driven by a more pragmatic approach to decarbonization solutions tailored to local needs. While in the past months, the decision-making process of most of the clients has been affected by significant macro and geopolitical uncertainties. We are now seeing concrete signs of recovery, which suggests a gradual increase in final investment decisions going forward. These opportunities are particularly concentrated on blue molecules and sustainable fuels, where our broad offering as strong process design capabilities position us as a leading player. And the practical demonstration of the growing momentum in sustainable fuels is represented by the recent awards we secured in Northern Europe, all based on our NX Circular technology.

In September, NextChem was selected by Altalto to conduct an engineering study for a SAF plant in the U.K. The facility will convert municipal and industrial waste into SAF, able to power over 500 flights from London to New York per year, supporting the U.K. SAF mandate. Furthermore, NextChem has been recently awarded by Equinor and Mana a feasibility study for a large scale waste to methanol plant at Norway's Mongstad refinery. These initiatives are clear examples of the market potential for clean fewer solutions in Aviation and Maritime, two segments where regulatory efforts are strongly supporting demand.

Moving to our technology development. I'd like to highlight the cooperation agreement with Siemens Energy to commercialize high-temperature methanol fuel cells. NextChem will focus on the design and supply of the fuel cell module targeting maritime application for net zero yachting. This will represent the first commercial scale installation and pave the way for additional ones across multiple applications in the mobility and power segments. In further setting the expansion of our technology offering is represented on yesterday's announcement of NextChem, our subsidiary dedicated to creating new intellectual property and providing highly qualified technical services in the field of new generation nuclear plants.

NextChem has secured a EUR 70 million engineering services contract developed the basic design of the conventional island and balance of plant of the first of a kind nuclear plant based on nucleus reactor. Leveraging on modularization expertise and decent capabilities, we aim to optimize costs and time lines for these kind of plans. Together, we embrace innovation and circularity, accelerating safe nuclear energy and sustainable solutions for the future. These are just two examples of our continuous efforts to further expand our technology portfolio, both through internal development with several initiatives currently underway and through M&A, where we are actively pursuing new opportunities.

Now we'll hand it back to Sandro for a detailed look at the operational performance of the integrated E&C Solutions business unit.

Thank you, Fabio. Let me say that our tireless commercial efforts led to an increase in the order intake this year to EUR 5.5 billion, expanding our presence to other strategic regions, underscoring the effectiveness of our diversification strategy. These new contract will span key geographies such as Kazakhstan, sub-sale Africa, Europe and [ Malaysia ] and cover gas processing or petrochemicals, hydrogen production and energy infrastructure upgrades. Our EUR 13.5 billion backlog continues to provide a solid foundation to navigate the current business environment. and allows our group to pursue other commercial opportunities in a highly selective way.

Now let me give you an update on the progress of Hail and Ghasha. I'm pleased to confirm that the execution of Hail at Ghasha is progressing well with some activities ahead of schedule. As of today, overall progress stands at approximately 45% with all major milestones being met. We have surpassed EUR 30 million safe men hours, a testament to our strong focus on safety and disciplined project execution. Engineering is advancing faster and procurement is almost complaint. Construction activities are also progressing extremely well.

To give you a real sense of scale, we have poured 274,000 cubic meters of concrete. That is like filling 110 Olympic swimming pools and installed 14,000 metric tons of steel, the weight of two Eiffel towers. This is real work, heavy duty, no shortcuts. They are not adjusted numbers, they show the sheer magnitude of what we have delivered.

Looking at our journey in Kazakhstan, we are proud to highlight the only milestones we have achieved so far. This year. We start the critical projects such as the Silleno petrochemical complex at the Tengiz gas separation plant aimed at boosting the country's industrial capacity. Furthermore, through strategic partnerships including agreements with a leading local university and the Samruk-Kazyna, the sovereign fund we are exploring new initiatives in advanced energy infrastructure and decarbonization solution. Our commitment to local content has been announced through initiatives like the Atyrau local value share growth forum with 700 participants from 500 different local companies. The forum focused on the increasing importance of local content and how responsible supply chain can bring additional value to the local projects.

This concludes the review of our operational results, and let me now hand over to Mariano for the financial performance.

Thank you, Sandro. Our nine month income statement continues to reflect steady growth in revenues and profitability. Revenues reached EUR 5.2 billion, up 26.7% year-on-year, driven by solid project execution. EBITDA was EUR 358.1 million, up 33.2% supported by higher revenues and improved operating leverage. This result in an EBITDA margin of 6.8%, an increase of 30 basis points also thanks to the contribution from higher value-added services generated by NextChem. At the bottom line, strong operating performance, combined with effective financial and tax management delivered a consolidated net income of EUR 204.8 million, up 41.8% with a margin of 3.9%, up 40 basis points.

Let's now analyze our financial results by business unit. STS continues to deliver good results with revenues of EUR 309.4 million, up 22.9%, an increase driven by low carbon and circular fuels, CO2 capture and fertilizer solutions. EBITDA rose to EUR 80.3 million, up 31.2% with a margin of 26%, up 200 points reflecting a product mix characterized by higher contribution from licensing and high-value services. Integrated EMC revenues were EUR 4.9 billion, up 26.9%, reflecting our execution excellence. Growth was driven by project progress in the Middle East and North Africa, while on Central Asia are gaining traction. EBITDA of EUR 277.8 million, up 33.8% with a margin of 5.6%, up 30 basis points.

Let's normalize the cash flow dynamics of the hearing. Our adjusted net cash position at the end of September improved to EUR 342.5 million, driven by healthy operating cash flow generation of EUR 306.5 million, Net cash CapEx of EUR 51.4 million or directed to our sustaining the internal development and scale-up of proprietary technology accelerating digital innovation and advancing our green innovation district in Rome, which is set to become the group focal point for research and development.

Moving to our financial structure. Today, the Board of Directors approved the issuance of a new sustainable linked bond aimed at refinancing the existing indebtedness under more favorable conditions. In particular, we are targeting the early redemption of the EUR 200 million bond due in 2028. It's 6.5%, the point reflect is the financial market condition at the time of issuance. This move is intent to extend the average duration of our medium, long-term debt by nearly two years and lower its cost for announcing our financial efficiency. In line with our growing commitment to sustainable finance, we also issued a new sustainability-linked financing framework with ambitious decarbonization target covering both Scope 1 and 2 direct emission and the engagement of our suppliers for Scope 3 indirect emission.

That concludes our financial review, I will now hand over to Alessandro for his closing remarks.

Thank you, Mariano. Looking ahead, our commercial pipeline remains extremely strong, EUR 64.4 billion. As the downstream segment remains pivotal in driving diversification and decarbonization across clients' CapEx plans. In the near term, we expect several projects which have been tendered by our group to be sanctioned by the relevant clients located predominantly in the Middle East, Northern and Sub-Saharan in Africa and Europe. This includes gas processing and petrochemical initiatives, on which a few are multi-basin opportunities. Considering the ongoing negotiations, we remain confident that with the additional awards expected by the end of the year, the total order intake could exceed our EUR 8 billion target.

Looking forward at 2026, we expect our E&C tendering activities to be highly focused on gas processing. And gas monetization activities capitalizing on the accelerating global energy demand. At the same time, the structural shift towards cleaner fuels and chemicals also driven by regulation will support increasing opportunities for STS, which can leverage its broad technology offering, especially in blue molecules, sustainable fuels and fertilizers.

In conclusion, our nine months financial results represent a strong foundation and demonstrate a clear progress toward our year-end targets. In particular, in the fourth quarter, the E&C business unit is expected to generate volumes in line with the past quarters of 2025, entirely driven by the scheduled activities of the existing projects. At the same time, the STS business unit is expected to accelerate further, supported by the [ represent works ] as well as by projects, which are likely to be acquired before year-end, also benefiting from the integrated offering with the E&C's business unit.

As a result, we are steering towards full year group revenues in the upper end of the guidance range. Thanks to the disciplined project execution as well as the expected increase in contribution of higher value-added engineering services and technology solutions of NextChem in the fourth quarter.

Profitability is also expected in the upper end of the guidance range. CapEx will continue to prioritize the expansion of our technology portfolio including selective bolt-on acquisitions. In particular, we are currently actively pursuing a few M&A opportunities in Europe for which we are confident we will be -- we will reach a signing before the end of the year. Meanwhile, Operating cash generation is anticipated to support a net cash position aligned with the projected year-end 2024 lands.

This all in all, concludes our presentation. We are now ready to take your questions. So operator, please go ahead.

[Operator Instructions] And first question is from Isacco Brambilla from Mediobanca.

A couple of questions from my side. The first one is on the commercial opportunities pipeline. If I compare the slide of July presentation with today, I see probably Middle East as the area which you see additional opportunities, roughly EUR 3 billion, if I'm not mistaken. So just if you can elaborate a bit more on that. So the angle in which you see larger opportunities therefore what you are allowed to say, of course.

Second question is on margin outlook for next year. Of course, you are not giving guidance yet. But if we look at the integrated business. How should we think about building blocks supporting margin expansion next year? So it should be again a year in which project mix helps you or do you see more of operating leverage?

Thank you very much, and thank you for your questions. Starting -- answering to your question about the commercial pipeline and the opportunities that we are pursuing all over the world, but as you have correctly pointed out, a significant portion of our commercial efforts are concentrated in Middle East. Middle East as well as in North Africa, but Middle East from a value standpoint, for sure, is the region which could deserve the most significant opportunities moving forward.

In -- when I say Middle East, I am predominantly referring to Abu Dhabi and Qatar, since we have, of course, also other opportunities that we are working on in Saudi Arabia, but Saudi Arabia has modified significantly its investment appetite and having rerouted a significant portion of their investment plan in other parts of the world in a region whereby I do not expect to be able to participate. And I'm referring to Far East.

So talking for a while about what we have in front of us from Abu Dhabi in particular and Qatar, both of them related to projects in the gas monetization. We have already submitted our technical proposal. We have also submitted our commercial proposition. And now we are dialoguing with the client -- potential client in order to find out to try to close as soon as possible the negotiations with them.

Useless to say, that most of our commercial opportunities, not only in Middle East, but also in other regions of the world are predominantly concentrated with counterparts, which are national [indiscernible], private entities. And both entities before assumption in definitively the projects on top of spending a lot of time in identifying the most appropriate technical solution. They are also interested to have secured the most appropriate and the most efficient financial package for which some time they require our cooperation in finalizing it.

So this is just to mention that this process is normally much longer than the simple process whereby the client after having identify the most appropriate proposition than simply decide and sign the contract. In this case, which prevails in the present market environment most of the commercial opportunities we are working only to imply also the discussion about the typology of the financial package.

But however, putting everything together, considering where we are now, I am confident that some of them could be finalized within the end of the year or as a maximum, in the first week of 2026. And the size of those opportunities are able to satisfy if achieved, of course, but we are confident on the size we'll make possible to achieve the target that we have defined for the entire 2025 target, which means something in excess of EUR 8 billion equivalent. This is as far as the commercial opportunities are concerned.

The second question is related for next year. As You have already anticipated, it's a little bit early to talk about 2026. But at the same time, I recognize that what you have mentioned, which is we have already onboarded a significant backlog, which backup most of the activities, operational activities, which we expect to deliver next year. This, in particular, as far as E&C business is concerned because you know better than anybody else that as far as NextChem, it means the technological business of the industrial cycle is much shorter. So for sure, even if we expect to close the year-end with a backlog, a little bit higher compared to what we have on board right now. However, will not be enough to satisfy what we expect to deliver next year.

So just to say that in the 2026, all in all, we have already anticipated something with our strategic plan, 10 years strategic plan whereby we have already communicated to be able to deliver a compound average growth rate in the region of 5%, 6% year-on-year for at least for the next 5-year plan. So just to mention that we expect an additional step of growth in 2026, both in terms of volumes as well as in terms of profitability. And the size, we expect to be able to remain in line with what we have anticipated with our purely annual strategic plan.

We will now move to our next question from Jamie Franklin from Jefferies.

So I wanted to focus firstly on NextChem. Obviously, very, very strong quarterly EBITDA margin at 27.6%. So it's already exceeding the 2029 targets of 22%, 27%. Can you give us a bit more color on what specifically drove that high level of margin in the third quarter? And whether it's possible that we could see a repeat of that in the fourth quarter?

And then the second part of my question is NextChem revenues. So your guidance implies quite a material step up in 4Q. To what extent is that covered by what is in the backlog today? Could you clarify whether it assumes any contribution from the potential acquisitions that you expect to reach agreement on by the end of the year?

Thank you for the questions. First of all, I will probably have to answer the first and the second one together because one is the other side of the -- the second one is the other side of the first one.

We have always said and we've always indicated the range, which is between 22% to 25%. And clearly, this has to be seen on a yearly basis or on a longer-term basis. What has happened this quarter, and this is the reason why we have had a relatively higher profitability number that the mix of products, which have been making the revenues for this quarter are more shifted towards higher value-added services like engineering hours and licensing. You know that our mix when defining the profitability of NextChem is the combination of products which can range from the very high double-digit profitability of the license to a mid double-digit profitability of engineering services to a lower profitability when you get to proprietary equipment, which is higher in volume but lower in margins.

So the answer to your first question, do we see this profitability level being confirmed in the fourth quarter? The problem -- the answer is probably not. We will go back to the range we have indicated. And the reason is exactly the point of your second question, how are you going to fill the gap from now? With the backlog in our hands and the recent acquisition, some of which already announced, we will have a higher percentage of proprietary equipment in the last part of the year, which should lower the profitability to make it fall within the range we have indicated. So higher volumes than we have had in the last quarter, lower profitability. And again, the peaks have to be looked on a slightly longer time frame, the single quarter can be misguiding.

Then there was a third question on M&A or acquisitions. No -- the fourth quarter of the year is not based on the contribution of acquisitions, it would be silly to say so. We are already at the end of October, so the contribution to revenues in any case would be new or negligible. But definitely, we are concretely looking at some concrete opportunities in the pipeline with interesting targets of several targets, let me say so, which may materialize by the end of the year and contribute as a consequence to next year's revenues and profitability.

We will now move to our next question from Massimo Bonisoli from Equita.

Good afternoon, and thank you for taking my two questions. The first on the divisional E&C outlook regarding the outlook. Based on my calculation, the E&C division would already exceed the full year revenue guidance with an average quarter in Q4. Are there any constraining factors in Q4 that we must consider or does the outlook include some contingencies?

The second question is on the CapEx phasing for Q4. You confirmed the guidance for EUR 130 million, EUR 150 million range of CapEx for 2025 despite the only EUR 50 million spent in the first nine months. Can you shed some light on the CapEx phasing for Q4?

Possible. Thank you for your question. I start to answer to your first one which means what we have to expect in the fourth quarter. I truly believe that we have already clear answer to your question with our guidance by saying that based on our present knowledge and considering that what we are doing so far is totally referred to the backlog that we have on board there are no major uncertainties, which could affect the performance of the fourth quarter. Of course, based on what could be predictable, excluding what presently is unpredictable.

So based on this statement, we expect as far as E&C business is concerned to deliver more or less the same size of production that we have experienced in the third quarter. Eventually, we will do our best, of course, to do something else. But presently, we are satisfied based also on the planning agreed with the various clients for the various projects to deliver the same level of production that we have already delivered in the period of July, September, this will lead to a total volumes for the year for the group, taking also in consideration the scale up of the revenues that we expected to deliver with the NextChem, with the STS, something in the region of EUR 7 billion, which is the upper side of the guidance that we have communicated in July. So this is what we expect to deliver in the fourth quarter.

Then as far as investments, as you have correctly stated, from one side, we have confirmed our guidance for a total spending in ranging between EUR 130 million and EUR 150 million, while the situation actual by the end of September states something more than EUR 50 million. So for sure, a significant shortfall compared to our guidance.

While we have confirmed our guidance, I believe that it has been already anticipated by Fabio. We have some dossier, in particular, regarding -- so we are talking about M&A transaction, which we are working hardly on them. And for some of them, we expect to be able to at least achieve the signing of those transactions within the end of the year. Then the closure will follow in the quarter after having satisfied the traditional incumbencies which we have to satisfy for such kind of transaction.

But you know better than everybody else that the most critical phase of this process is to achieve the signing and considering the present level of those processes of some of them because we have not just one. We have some processes already ongoing. A couple of them are in advanced stage of negotiations, have already implied the submission of a nonbinding offer but just to mention to provide an idea, a color about how we have progressed in those process and for this reason, we have been confident to reconfirm the guidance because we expect to be able to achieve to conclude some of them within the end of the year. And accordingly, the total magnitude of the spending for 2025 will be in the range of the guidance that we have provided.

Our next question is from Marco Cristofori from Intesa Sanpaolo.

Good afternoon, and congratulations for the results. Two questions, if I may. You were awarded the important order in Kazakhstan. Just to understand if the average profitability of these orders are similar to the orders already in the backlog? Or if there is some upside on this?

And my second question, I noticed that during the third quarter, there was a sharp increase of the service cost with a reduction of raw material. And just to understand if -- what other reasons behind this movement?

I'm trying to satisfy your question, Marco. First, talking about Kazakhstan. Of course, we are talking about two projects, two very important projects as well as a complicated project because when talking about the petrochemical projects, we are talking about process and the process means complication means a technology and overall -- everything even in a country, which is quite "ew" for us for our organization because we have been there since a long time. But from an operational standpoint, these are the first new projects we are working on.

So for this reason, of course, useless to say that we are concentrated in executing the project in the most efficient way and if there will be an improvement in the marginality. Of course, will begat or just at the end of the project, considering the element which I mentioned before. So new country, new regions, new partner of course, well-known type of project. But all in all, the margin that we expect to generate is aligned with the traditional margin we generate on the EPC project -- on the other EPC project. And of course, if there will be any type of improvement that we will be able to enjoy this would be, of course, released only on the end of the project.

Then the subsequent one relates to the different mix between service cost and material. Well, this depends a lot on the status of the various projects, which are under execution for sure. In the third quarter, we have paid a lot of efforts in taking benefit and advantages of the season in order to announce the construction activities. Why is the procurement of long lead items as well as all the other materials, which are necessary for the project execution have been concentrated in the first part of the year. Then I expect that moving forward the for example, incoherent with the progress of Hail and Ghasha, which is moving into a more operational phase because the construction now is just at the 25%. But moving forward, the construction is the phase which will prevail. So most of the cost will be represented in the service cost because, of course, we are leveraging on the partnership with the local subcontractors. So it's just something which is connected with the phases of the various projects, which are under execution, Marco.

And our next question is from Mick Pickup from Barclays.

Just a quick question on NextChem, if I may. Obviously, if I look around, it looks like some of the net zero ambition seem to be slowing or moving further out in time. So I'm just wondering if you're seeing particular winners in technologies versus a broader spectrum that would be addressed a few years ago. So you see a lot on SAF, a lot on waste too. If carbon capture slowing down? Is green slowing versus blue? So what are the dynamics within that NextChem on the transition side?

Let me take this tough question, because there's been a year where things have been unpredictable has been 2025, not to mention the IMO outcome in London last week.

So let me say that definitely, there's no longer a coherent global approach to energy transition, no doubt. And there is no longer the key vectors of -- well, the key vectors to the energy transition, the energy transition are broadening if compared to what we were expecting in 2022, 2023, everybody was talking about [ hydrogen ]. What we are seeing right now is that the energy transition is becoming more and more localized. So there are a lot of geographies which are taking steps towards the energy transition with most convenient or available feedstock in their own geographies. methanol.

Methanol in these days is something we are seeing in certain geographies, which are well positioned to serve those markets who are still demanding for methanol. And the markets are still demanding for methanol are definitely Korea, Japan. So we see developments of projects who can serve those geographies. We see ammonia, also green ammonia in markets where we have proximity with the end users, and you can undercap transportation costs, and I'm referring to India. I'm referring to certain initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa. We see sustainable aviation fuel, although at small doses in all those countries, which have relevant access to agricultural or animal waste.

So I would say that in the broad spectrum of technologies, we can offer to our clients, coupled with the global presence of Maire Group is helping us intersecting way more opportunities than pure plays, having just one technology and focused on one market can't. And this is, if I may, also represented by prior numbers. We keep on growing. We would like to see a more stable environment, no doubt, we would hope for a better 2026 in terms of overall market dynamics. But notwithstanding that, we have been able to grow. And if I may, I think the worst part of the year is over. If I look at some of the recent acquisitions plus the feedback we received from certain clients, we see a push towards finalizing some investment decisions that we haven't seen in the first part of the year. So we are quite positive at this point in time of the year.

Mick, I don't know if I've answered your question. I try to, but that's a very long answer to a very complex question.

Thank you. It appears this was our last question today. With this, I'd like to hand the call back over to Alessandro Bernini for any additional or closing remarks. Over to you, sir.

This is Silvia again. Thank you very much to everyone for participating in this call. And for any follow-up, please feel free to reach out to the Investor Relations team. Our next appointment will be on the occasion of our 2026 Capital Markets Day at the beginning of March next year. The exact date will be announced in due course. Thank you, again, and have a good evening.

Thank you. This concludes today's conference call. Thank you for your participation, ladies and gentlemen. You may now disconnect.