Saipem: the Board approves the 2017 Consolidated and draft Statutory Financial Statements. Convening of the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting.

Results for 2017:
 Revenues: €8,999 million (€9,976 million in 2016), of which €2,126 million in the fourth quarter
 Adjusted EBITDA: €964 million (€1,266 million in 2016), of which €169 million in the fourth quarter
 EBITDA: €862 million (€909 million in 2016), of which €125 million in the fourth quarter
 Adjusted operating profit (EBIT): €440 million (€582 million in 2016), of which €40 million in the fourth quarter
 Reported operating profit (EBIT): €126 million (loss of €1,499 million in 2016), loss of €131 million in the fourth quarter
 Adjusted net profit: profit of €46 million (€226 million in 2016), loss of €105 million in the fourth quarter
 Reported net result: loss of €328 million, net of write-downs and reorganization and tax expenses of €374 million (loss of €2,087 million in 2016, net of write-downs and reorganization expenses of €2,313 million); loss of €271 million in the fourth quarter
 Capital expenditure: €262 million (€296 million in 2016), of which €64 million in the fourth quarter
 Net debt at December 31, 2017: €1,296 million (€1,450 million at December 31, 2016)
 New contracts: €7,399 million (€8,349 million in 2016), of which €2,682 million in the fourth quarter
 Backlog: €12,363 million (€14,219 million at December 31, 2016) 

The Consolidated and draft Statutory Financial Statements of Saipem SpA have been made available to the Board of Statutory Auditors and to the Independent Auditors, together with the Directors’ Report. The Annual Report will be made available to the public made available to the public according to the law at Saipem’s headquarters and shall be published on Saipem’s website (www.saipem.com), on the authorised “eMarket STORAGE” mechanism (www.emarketstorage.com) and on the website of Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (www.borsaitaliana.it). 

The Board of Directors approved Saipem’s Corporate Governance and Shareholding Structure Report, the Remuneration Report, and resolved to include as a separate section in the Directors’ Report, the “Nonfinancial Statement”, adopting the highest level of publication of non-financial information provided by Legislative Decree No. 254/2016. The Board has also approved the document “Saipem Sustainability”, which provides a detailed analysis of the most significant sustainability issues for the Company.  These documents will be published at the same time as the Annual Report. 

Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting
The Board of Directors has convened the Annual General Shareholders’ Meeting for May 3, 2018 (single call). The Shareholders’ Meeting has been called to approve the following items: the 2017 Statutory Financial Statements, the number of the members of the Board of Directors, the duration of their mandate, the appointment of the Board of Directors and their fees, the appointment of the Chairman of the Board, additional fees for the Independent Auditors and, by way of consultation, on the section of the Compensation Report regarding the company’s remuneration policy. At the reasoned proposal of the Board of Statutory Auditors, the Board shall submit to the Shareholders’ approval the conferment of a new legal audit mandate for the years 2019 – 2027, and associated fees. 

Following a proposal from the Compensation and Nomination Committee, the Board of Directors resolved to submit to the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting a proposal to authorize the buy-back of treasury shares, up to a maximum of 8,800,000 ordinary shares and, at any rate, not exceeding the maximum sum of €38,500,000. These shall be destined for the 2018 award of the 2016-2018 Long-Term Incentive Plan (“Plan”) already approved by the Shareholders’ Meeting held on April 29, 2016, which encompassed the free award of ordinary Saipem SpA shares (“Performance Shares”), beginning from July 2016 with three annual awards, each subject to a three-year vesting period. Authorization for the buy-back of treasury shares is requested for a period of 18 months from the date of the resolution of the Shareholders’ Meeting.

The proposal provides that the buy-back may be achieved gradually as deemed appropriate through purchase on the market at a unit price not lower than the minimum and not higher than the maximum official price registered on the day of stock market trading preceding each individual buy-back transaction, decreased or increased respectively by 5% and, at any rate, at a price that is no higher than the highest price between that of the latest independent transaction and that of highest current independent offer of purchase during the same trading session, pursuant to Art. 3 of Regulation (EU) 2016/1052. The Company currently holds 14,856,780 treasury shares, equal to 1.47% of the share capital. 

The documentation relating to the agenda of the Shareholders’ Meeting, the complete texts of the motions, together with the reports detailing the motions, as requested by current regulations will be made available to the public according to the law at Saipem’s headquarters and shall be published on the authorised “eMarket STORAGE” mechanism (www.emarketstorage.com), on the website of Borsa Italiana S.p.A. (www.borsaitaliana.it) and in the section “Shareholder’s Meeting” on the Saipem website (www.saipem.com).   

Guidance 2018
 Revenues: ~ €8 billion  
 Adjusted EBITDA: > 10%  
 Capital expenditure: ~ €300 million  
 Net debt: ~ €1.1 billion 

Stefano Cao, Saipem CEO, commented: “Despite the persistence of a challenging market context, the results for 2017 confirm the solid operational and managerial performance, underscored on more than one occasion during the year, with a constant downward trend in net debt and a good intake of new contracts, above all in the second half of the year. The full implementation of the new organisational model has facilitated the identification of further key objectives in terms of an increase in efficiency and effectiveness. The diversification of the operational proposal in new markets and the search for opportunities in new geographical areas will likewise contribute to the creation of value for stakeholders. To the above can be added the recent settlement with Sonatrach - which puts an end to litigations and allows for the re-establishment of relations with historical Algerian partners and a return to a strategic market for Saipem.

Saipem is one of the world leaders in drilling services, as well as in the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of pipelines and complex projects, onshore and offshore, in the oil & gas market. The company has distinctive competences in operations in harsh environments, remote areas and deepwater. Saipem provides a full range of services with “EPC” and “EPCI” contracts (on a “turn-key” basis) and has distinctive capabilities and unique assets with a high technological content. 
 
Website: www.saipem.com
Switchboard: +39 0244231 
 
Media relations
Tel: +39 0244234088; E-mail: media.relations@saipem.com 
 
Relations with institutional investors and financial analysts
Tel: +39 0244234653; Fax: +39 0244254295;
E-mail: investor.relations@saipem.com 
 
Contact point for retail investors  
E-mail: segreteria.societaria@saipem.com