Good morning. It's mid-July, so it's time to have a look at the first six months of the year. This live-streamed event will cover Elia Group's half-year results, and we are honored to have some new analysts joining us for today's event. So welcome to you. And I would also like to introduce you to the Group's CEO, Catherine Vandenborre, and the Group's CFO, Marco Nix. Welcome to the both of you. What can you expect from us over the next hour or so? We will look back at the Group's most important events and achievements from the past six months. Catherine Vandenborre will delve deeper into Elia Group's growth. The more projects we realize, the more people and materials we need. And Catherine will explain how Elia Group is approaching talent management and attention to experience across international supply chains. Marco Nix will then take us through the financials and the outlook for the rest of the year. Before we can continue, please read through the disclaimer, which is on the screen now. You must take note of this information. As always, the slides and the script will be made available later today. Let's start off with some images of the extreme weather that Belgium has recently experienced. Just over two weeks ago, a heavy storm toppled over nine pilings in the Mechelen area. It also brought down several conductors, most of which ended up in fields and some of which fell onto around 15 homes. Luckily, no one was injured, and the security of supply was maintained. But the material damage caused to the local area was extensive, and the repair works will take months to complete. Our thoughts are with the local community that was affected by the storm. The next video explains how our team in Belgium addressed the incident. Keeping everyone safe was their main priority.[Foreign Language] [Foreign language] [Foreign language] [Foreign language] [Foreign language] A total of 70 pilings were bent over by the storm, and thankfully nobody was injured, and the electricity supply was not interrupted. But these events make us immediately think of climate adaptation. Catherine, how do we make sure that our critical infrastructure is able to continue to deliver security of supply amidst these extreme weather conditions? Yeah, that's indeed a very relevant question in this context, Marleen. But first, I would like to thank our operational teams for the incredible work they have been undertaking over the past weeks. Keeping the lights on for the benefit of society is indeed what drives us. Security of supply has never been at risk, and so I am very proud to have such motivated and dedicated staff in our company. The teamwork they have displayed has been exceptional. Now, to answer your question, Marleen, indeed, working on a risk preparedness plan so that we can adapt our infrastructure so it remains resistant to climate change is high on our agenda. Every good plan starts with the identification of the risks involved. Those risks have all been mapped out, and we have also carried out an audit of their possible impact on our critical infrastructure. This analysis is also part of our work on being even more closely aligned with the European Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities. Last year, we worked with an association of German research institutes. They have specific models which assess the impact of certain weather phenomena on our infrastructure. On top of that, we are also working on a risk preparedness plan at the European level. In line with the European directive, we are setting up collaboration with six other European countries for the electricity sector. To give you an example of what this collaboration could work on, a heat wave in Europe or extreme drought might impact several countries at once. To conclude, we have several procedures in place to manage the risks. Those procedures range from crisis management plans to operational procedures such as defense plans and restoration plans. The governance and risk portion of our latest integrated annual report includes a climate-related disclosure section. Thank you, Catherine. Marco, let's briefly revisit that climate change audit that Catherine mentioned. The Group has carried this out last year. Could you share some insights from that report with us? For sure. There are no current indications of an increase in extreme wind speeds. That might come as a surprise given the two incidents we have just experienced. Those kinds of incidents have happened in the past, but they are still very rare. What we do know is there's an increased risk of floods due to the heavy rains. Remember the floods that we had in Belgium two years ago. There's also been a slight increase in heat wave stress. However, the average signals for cold spells indicate that the risk of these in the future is relatively low. Yeah, that's the audit, but what concrete actions have been taken to protect our infrastructure against climate change? In terms of floods, we conducted an analysis of substations that face the highest risk. We are moving our critical infrastructure to higher positions in some of our substations. We are also constructing additional walls in several places to prevent water from entering our buildings. We are including heat pumps in our new substations. These can be used to cool our equipment down during heat waves, protecting it from overheating. Although we do not expect an increase in extreme winds, we are reinforcing some of our pilings, particularly those that belong to the 380 kV backbone. Both in Belgium and Germany, we are undertaking a large investment program which involves the installation of new conductors along the existing corridors that can carry more electricity. Stronger pilings are needed for this. Yeah, these are all examples of adaptation measures in the face of climate change. But when an incident happens and infrastructure is damaged, restoration plans are needed. To be ready to put these into action, large-scale training and simulation exercises are held. The video on screen now shows one of such training exercises focused on the construction of an emergency piling. By testing out different crisis scenarios, our teams in the field are prepared to set up and undertake repair works very quickly. Coming back to Mechelen, where we started, Elia is now working on the deployment of a backup line, and this involves the construction of five temporary pilings, and the backup line should be operational by mid-August. The other restoration work that needs to be carried out across the line that has been damaged will take a few months to complete. Let's move on to another recent event. Last week, Elia Group announced it is investing EUR 12.5 million in an international venture capital fund, which is managed by SET Ventures. The fund supports digital innovation in the energy sector. Catherine, this is the very first time that Elia Group is investing in a venture capital fund. What's the rationale behind this decision? Yeah, we are indeed participating in this specific venture capital fund to gain access to an ecosystem of European startups which are all working on the digitalization of the energy sector. Over the next four years, the fund will be invested progressively in European startups that are developing digital technologies and services and are mature enough to be scaled up. The decision to invest in the venture capital fund is part of our overall strategy regarding digitalization. As you know, we are making digitalization a priority with three objectives. First, to make activities such as system management and asset management more efficient. Second, to manage the increasing complexity of our business linked to integration of renewables. And third, to unlock flexibility, especially at the consumption side. And so, by collaborating with promising startups, we will be staying up to date with the latest trends and newest innovations. Also, we have set up a specific internal structure to spread the knowledge acquired through those startups into our organization. Okay, let's now move on to recent political developments. The European Parliament has confirmed Ursula von der Leyen's second term as the EU Commission's president. In her recent speech, in which she outlined her vision and plans as the Commission president, von der Leyen announced a new Clean Industrial Deal, which clearly emphasizes the goal of staying on course to meet the goals of the European Green Deal. I will put forward a new Clean Industrial Deal in the first 100 days of the next mandate. It will channel investment in infrastructure and industry, in particular for energy-intensive sectors. This will help create lead markets in everything from clean steel to clean tech. We invested massively in homegrown, cheap renewables, and this enabled us to break free from dirty Russian fossil fuels. Therefore, honorable members, together, we will ensure that the era of dependency from Russian fossil fuels is over once and for all. Furthermore, von der Leyen emphasized the importance of completing the energy union and faster permitting procedures. Catherine, that sounds quite promising for our business, I would say. Yeah, indeed. I think we can say that the long-term goals of the Green Deal are not being questioned. Of course, to maintain support for the energy transition, it's clear that the Commission will be more focused on competitiveness. My reading is that this confirms that the climate agenda will more than ever be seen as an investment agenda. What does it mean for Elia Group in the future? Yeah, investment in clean energy infrastructure and technologies will be given priority and will be scaled up. This will, of course, cover grid infrastructures and investments in energy efficiency measures and the digitalization of the energy system. There will also be a focus on reducing administrative burdens, simplifying and accelerating tendering processes, and finally, accelerating the implementation of projects through faster permitting procedures. So the political guidelines that have been presented by von der Leyen speak to the very heart of our business, and we are really looking forward to supporting the next European Commission in its decision-making. Indeed. During the first six months of this year, Belgium held the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Several of the events it organized, such as the informal Energy Council, were supported by Elia Group. Catherine, what is your overall assessment of the impact of Belgium's presidency on Elia Group? The Belgian presidency offered Elia Group many opportunities to engage with relevant European policymakers. We organized tours of our national control center and Nemo Link converter station. This allowed us to raise awareness of Elia Group and its work and to share some of our attention points with key stakeholders. These include, for example, the importance of the relationship that Europe shares with the UK, particularly in terms of energy. In short, the presidency was clearly focused on electricity grids, on offshore development, and on international collaboration. Yeah, and speaking of offshore development, Elia Group and the Danish wind farmer developer Ørsted published a joint paper earlier this year about hybrid interconnectors entitled Making Hybrids Happen. The paper was launched during this year's WindEurope conference in Bilbao in Spain. The paper outlines strategies for overcoming the obstacles which are currently hindering the development of offshore hybrid projects in Europe. Catherine, why are these hybrid interconnectors across Europe so necessary? Yeah, offshore hybrids are a key element for ensuring the success of Europe's green transition. This has been confirmed by ENTSO-E studies, which indicate that by 2050, up to 80 GW of offshore wind capacity could be connected to two or more markets. Offshore hybrids are key because offshore wind potential is not spread out equally across Europe. Some countries have a shortage, like Belgium and Germany, while others, like Nordic countries, have more offshore renewable energy than they can use. Hybrid interconnectors will therefore help Europe to harness the full potential of its seas at the lowest possible cost. However, as the paper outlines, several barriers lie in the way of their development. Yeah, since the further development of offshore wind is crucial for the next phase of Europe's energy transition, Elia Group is working on a new viewpoint which will be exploring the subject in some depth, and this will be published mid-October. The viewpoint will be looking at the benefits of offshore wind and will include proposals and recommendations related to planning and financing, as well as the strengthening of the supply chain. It's therefore something to look forward to. Marco, we just covered some of Elia Group project highlights from the first half of the year, but what about the Group's figures? Thanks, Marleen. It's important to mention that the Group had a record start in terms of investments. Elia Group invested EUR 1.7 billion during the first half of the year, of which EUR 458 million in Belgium and EUR 1.3 billion in Germany. We are well on track and are delivering on our CapEx plan. The key drivers of this investment plan remain the reinforcement of the international internal backbone and the connection of offshore wind to our grid in Belgium and Germany. We are also continuing to digitalize our operations. In terms of financial result, Elia Group achieved a strong performance, leading to an increase in the net profit Elia share of 11.8% to EUR 181.6 million. Turning to our known financial KPIs, under the first dimension of our sustainability program, Act Now, Elia Group has now developed its own scope-free carbon accounting platform on the SAP Business Technology Platform. This allows for transparency regarding the carbon footprint of our investment activities and has enhanced the maturity level of our Scope 3 data. We've been furthermore awarded for the innovation earlier this year and, more important, have achieved our group-level target of a minimum of 60% spent. For the seventh time in a row, Elia was recognized as a top employer in Belgium. Its score this year rose to 90%. Elia made most progress in terms of diversity and inclusion and well-being teams. 50Hertz has also demonstrated its appeal as an employer in Germany, with over 200 individuals joining the company during the first half of the year. Finally, we also received the confidence from our shareholders to have authorized capital, allowing the board of directors to increase the capital subject to certain conditions. This provides us further flexibility in structuring our future capital raise. Yeah, and the first half of the year was also quite busy concerning financing activities. Marco, could you provide us with an overview? Absolutely. As illustrated well on the slide, our teams have been very busy. Throughout this period, we successfully carried out numerous transactions, raising a total of EUR 3.2 billion in the debt capital markets and securing new liquidity of EUR 4.2 billion across the group. The proceeds from the green bonds issued by ETB and Eurogrid are allocated towards financing the CapEx programs and facilitating the energy transition. We also increased the revolving credit facilities, which are intended to strengthen and enhance the liquidity profile of the group, thereby making our companies more resilient and robust. Lastly, the issuances by Elia Group are used to finance the Group's growth opportunities in energyRe Giga and Eurogrid. Overall, these transactions highlight the Group's ability to secure funding for financing its growth. They also underscore our dedication to diversify our credit investor base, incorporating sustainability into our financial strategy, and maintaining prudent financial management to the benefit of all stakeholders. Thank you, Marco. Let's take a closer look now at the record amounts in terms of the implementation of our CapEx program. On the next slide, you'll see an overview of the past year, and it's clear that the investments in the first six months of this year have gotten off to a record start. Catherine, what has been the impact of this on the organization? Deliver, deliver, deliver. That's our motto. It shows that our ambitious investment program is in full swing. And it's fair to say, Marleen, that there is some pressure on the organization to deliver its project on time to a high standard of quality and within budget. But that growth didn't happen overnight. We have been able to prepare for it. Given that the challenge years we face will continue to be significant over the coming years, and given that we want to keep our further growth manageable, we are focusing heavily on digitalization and innovation, attracting new and talented people to work for us, securing our supply chains, and finally, strengthening our financial foundations. Yeah, as you mentioned, attracting new and talented people to the Group. And this year, the total workforce is expected to increase to 3,754 employees by the end of the year, an impressive 458 new employees should have joined us. 200 of them will work exclusively in Berlin. And to provide those newcomers with an appropriate workspace, our headquarters in Berlin are currently being expanded. The topping-off ceremony was held in April, and this marked the successful completion of the shell construction work. The new building should be ready to host its first employees by next summer. And once ready, the new building will also host the child daycare center. Yeah, and let's briefly revisit the number of 458 new employees. In the next video, our heads of HR, Peter Michiels and Sylvia Borcherding, explain how Elia Group is achieving this target amidst a competitive war of talented individuals. We have highly ambitious and stretching recruitment targets, which is, of course, great because we are ready for this. But what I also want to do is measure the progress during the year, as if you miss at some point a ramp-up, it will be very difficult to catch up later. So we developed, with the help of IT, some real nice dashboards where we can follow this up in real time. And these are now used on a daily basis to monitor our progress. We are so attractive for future talents because, firstly, we really have a real purpose with the energy transition. That attracts a lot more young people than we thought at the beginning of our journey within the growth path. Yeah, so this is really, really relevant. And then, of course, the corporate culture is something which you should not underestimate because people want to feel being part of the game. They want to be heard, and they want to have their opinion included in decision-making. As soon as somebody has signed their contract, they get a link to our intranet system, which, of course, blocks all the confidential information, but already gives them access to org charts, messages from the executive teams, access to all the necessary information they will need for their specific role. And that really helps a lot. For example, project leaders, you really have to intensely cope with activities like assuring safety because people might have worked in a different culture in the past. People might not be aware of how important safety is for us. So what we did in the last half year is to adapt very clear to these changes in the organization and to adapt to the growth and to really intensify the safety activities to keep our organization on a very, very high safety level. Diversity in the recruitment strategy for me means, of course, having a good balance between male and female talent. And we have a specific quota for that that we for the moment are reaching in our recruitment efforts. But also, we need to think beyond male-female. For example, we are looking at partnerships with schools that deal with people with autism that could be highly effective in certain roles, for example, data analysts. But also, on the other hand, people with disabilities. We have recruited some people that, for example, have to sit in wheelchairs, but we are changing the corporate environment so that these people also fit in and have a place in our organization. And in terms of all the vacancies that needed to be filled during the first half of the year, one-third was filled in by internal people moving to a new position. One-third, Catherine, that's a lot. Yeah, indeed, but that's a positive thing, I believe. We are big investors in people. We need employees with high amounts of expertise, and we invest strongly in training them via Elia Group's academies. So if you invest in people, you prefer keeping them. Internal mobility is an essential part of our retention policy. Currently, we have a turnover rate of 2% compared to the market that's very low, and we want to keep it like this. Indeed. Let's zoom in now on our home countries. We'll kick off with Stefan Kapferer in Germany. A new record in renewable energy integration was achieved during the first half year of the first half of this year, and some of 50Hertz's key projects are well underway. In the first half of 2024, we have once again seen a lot of progress in the German energy transition. With a share of 75% in the first few months of this year, 50Hertz has reached once again a record high of the integration of renewable energies in our grid. With a 650 MW solar park south of Leipzig, 50Hertz has integrated first-time. The overview of the past six months in Belgium. Let's start with an update about the Princess Elisabeth Island, our flagship. Work for the island has been finished. The artificial island will be key for the success of the energy transition in Belgium. To emphasize its importance to our country, a delegation from the Belgian government visited the site. Belgium has long been a pioneer in offshore wind development. By continuing to innovate, we are consolidating our position as a leader in the area and securing our future. [Foreign language] Elia has now also awarded the contracts to several international consortia for the HVDC infrastructure, which will be installed on the island. These contracts are worth around EUR 1.5 billion. The contracts cover the installation of 330 km of cables and the installation of five substations. The process for the award of these infrastructure contracts is ongoing and is expected to be finalized by the end of the year. Integrating massive amounts of offshore electricity requires the onshore grid to be reinforced. Elia is therefore working on the development of the missing links, Ventilus and Boucle du Hainaut. The environmental impacts report for the latter has been submitted. We are also strengthening the grid to enable the electrification of the site. We are working with industrial clients across the country to anticipate their future needs. We are doing it in close cooperation with distribution system operators. This will be important for ensuring that the grid is reliable and, just like in East Germany, it will be an important driver for economic growth. However, not all our activities are going to plan. In January, a subsea cable connecting the Rentel wind farm to the mainland suddenly failed. The cause of the fault, which was located near the transformation platform, is still being investigated. The repair work was complex and challenging due to weather conditions. 400 meters of cable were replaced. Despite the incident, wind generation was not compromised since the affected wind farm is connected to Elia's modern offshore grid via a second cable. In total, four wind farms are connected to Elia's Plug at Sea. This meshed offshore grid configuration means that wind electricity could still be generated and transmitted back to shore throughout the repair work. The electricity output of the four wind farms was slightly lower during short periods of very high winds to prevent their export cables from being overloaded. Despite this, another on- and offshore wind record was broken in the first few months of this year. It clearly shows the advantages of our meshed offshore grid. We are also not far from reaching a new solar record. Over the past year, 2.6 gigawatts of new solar panels have been installed across Belgium. Along with the high level of availability of the country's nuclear fleet this summer, this might cause big surpluses of electricity. Market parties have been given this information as part of our summer outlook so that they can prepare themselves. To support the system in the long term, however, it is vital that more flexibility is unlocked from across the system. We continue to emphasize this and support the steps different actors are taking towards realizing this. We can rely on the strong support from the Supplies Federation. For the first time, they've expressed their public support for more flexibility. I would like to end by mentioning a new study that we will be publishing in September, Belgium's Electricity Blueprint 2035-2050. It will provide insights about Belgium's energy mix of the future. Over the next two decades, Belgium's economy will undergo a shift from running on fossil fuels to optimizing carbon-neutral resources and aiming for maximum electrification. The most transformative changes to make this happen still lie ahead. Deciding what energy sources Belgium will rely on in the future is crucial for the further development of low-carbon technologies and of the grid. Anticipation is critical for the development of projects which have long lead times. It will be a complex and critical process which the next government will be responsible for. Yeah, Frédéric already referred to it. One current issue, especially during the summer months, is negative electricity prices. The next slide clearly demonstrates that during the first six months, more negative prices occurred over more hours than they have done in previous years. This is mainly due to the increase in solar energy. In its summer outlook, Elia highlighted the problem of overproduction or incompressibility. Elia called on market parties to stay vigilant over the summer months. Catherine, how did the market respond to this call for action? The answer to this question is so far so good, Marleen. So market parties are indeed responsible for ensuring the balance between supply and demand in their respective areas. Elia provides them with all the information they need to be prepared and meet their responsibilities. Market parties are responding very well to a call, and they are avoiding overproduction. In the long run, the answer to these situations, such as this, will, of course, be more and automated flexibility. The good news is that both the energy sector and policymakers are aware of the problem. So I see this as a wake-up call for more flexibility. We have provided our audience with updates about many topics so far, Catherine, but there is still one question missing. What about a new Elia Group CEO? Yeah, indeed. The process for finding a new CEO is ongoing and progressing well, but the nomination committee and the board haven't taken a decision yet. We expect to have more news to share with you after the summer break. It goes without saying that as soon as a decision has been taken, we will announce the name of Elia Group's new CEO, Marleen. Yeah, so we have to wait a little bit more. We have to be a little bit more patient. Luckily, we don't have to wait for the figures. Marco, the financial figures, it's your turn now. What can you tell about the group's results? Indeed, Marlene. Let me walk through our half-year results. Elia Group reported strong results across all segments. The group revenues amount to EUR 1.9 billion, a slight increase compared to prior years. In Belgium, revenues increased by around 16%, as revenues were mainly impacted by a higher regulated net profit, increased depreciations, and increased net financial costs. In Germany, revenues decreased by around 7%, mainly due to lower energy prices impacting revenues from incentive regulation and energy revenues. This was partially offset by increased revenues from offshore surcharge due to ongoing offshore investments. A rise in other income due to the higher staff levels to manage the investment program added to that. Elia Group's net profit rose by 9.6%, reaching EUR 218.8 million. ETB's profit increased by EUR 15.5 million, mainly due to higher fair remuneration and performance incentives. Meanwhile, 50Hertz Transmission had a stable net profit of EUR 112.3 million, driven by asset growth and higher base year revenues, although the lower regulatory return on equity on assets prior to 2024. The non-regulated segment and NemoLink recorded an increase of EUR 3.9 million due to the higher contribution of NemoLink, despite higher costs incurred for WindGrid and the financing of the energyRe Giga transaction. Post non-controlling interest and hybrid costs, the net profit Elia Group share increased by almost 12% to EUR 181.6 million, resulting in a double-digit EPS growth per half year. Let us now turn to the funding of Elia Group. Debt issuance backed by operational cash flows remained the main source of funding in 2024. As of the end of June, our net debt excluding EEG was about EUR 10.8 billion, indicating a 19.8% increase from the year's end. This increase is largely due to our first-half investments of EUR 1.7 billion. Additionally, the group's investment in energyRe Giga was financed through debt, which pushed the group's cost of debt up by 69 basis points to 2.8%. Our current outstanding debt is primarily fixed rate, with the exception of EUR 300 million term loan that is fully hedged at 3.5%. The credit rating of the group remains unchanged at BBB flat with a stable outlook. Yeah, that's for the group. You have mentioned strong results across the three segments. Let us maybe first zoom in on Belgium. Sure. We touched on the revenues earlier, so let us go straight to the net profits. The adjusted net profit in Belgium increased by 18.7% to EUR 98.6 million. First, the fair remuneration increased by EUR 14.8 million, driven by the increased REP, higher return on equity, and increased equity. As you know, a new regulatory period started in Belgium with an important change that means our equity remuneration now includes a revaluation mechanism that is linked to the average 10-year Belgium government bond, the OLO. The average 10-year OLO is expected to be around 3%, surpassing the fixed 2.4% risk-free rate that was applied during the preceding regulatory period. Second, ETB also saw an increase in incentives, up EUR 1.7 million, due to the solid operational performance. We also saw higher capitalized borrowing costs, up by EUR 3.9 million for more assets under construction. However, this was slightly offset by higher regulatory settlements and the reversal of provision for the inflation incentive, down by EUR 4.5 million from the 2023 siding review. Yeah, you already mentioned the expansion of the asset base and also the issuance of a bond this year. What has been the impact of this on ETB's financial position so far? We began the year by issuing a second green bond for ETB and strengthened our liquidity position with a new sustainability-linked RCF of EUR 1.26 billion. ETB maintains a balanced debt maturity profile with all outstanding debt carrying a fixed coupon. The average cost of debt increased by 31 basis points to 2.3%. ETB's liquidity situation is solid, with both the sustainable RCF and commercial paper remaining fully undrawn as of the end of June. ETB's credit rating remained unchanged at a BBB plus with a stable outlook. Okay, that was Belgium. Now let's shift our focus to Germany. A new regulatory period has started there. What has been the impact of this on the first half of the year? This period is characterized by an equity remuneration for new assets, which is now linked to a base rate and a risk premium, while for investments made before 2024, there's a fixed rate established ex ante for the period. For these assets, the return on equity post-tax is set at 4.13%, and for investments as of January 1st, 2024, current expectations are close to 5.7%. The result came in flat year-over-year, amounting to EUR 112.3 million. This was largely a result of a couple of key factors. Firstly, there was an increase in base year revenues of EUR 22.2 million. This was due to the updated cost allowance that came with the start of the new regulatory period and is covering the EUR 17.2 million higher costs we faced. Secondly, the growth in assets led to a higher investment remuneration of EUR 10.1 million, but this has been offset by higher depreciations and financial costs. Let us have a look at the liquidity. In 2024, WindGrid made further steps in strengthening its liquidity position in line with its investment plan by continuing to tap into the bond market. We issued a dual tranche of green bonds totaling EUR 1.5 billion. We also increased our liquidity at the start of the new year by securing new revolving credit facilities worth EUR 3 billion. As a result of these transactions, the average cost of debt rose to 2.8%, which is a 79 basis points increase compared to the end of 2023. As of June 2024, Standard & Poor's rate WindGrid's credit rating as a BBB flat with a stable outlook. Okay, let's now shift to the third segment, the non-regulated segment and Nemo Link. What highlights can you share there with us? Solid results also for our third segment, with the net profit increasing by EUR 3.9 million, bringing it up to EUR 7.9 million. This primarily resulted from several key factors. Firstly, there was a higher contribution from Nemo Link, amounting to an increase of EUR 11.5 million. With the start of a new five-year assessment period, Nemo Link's contribution was currently not restricted by its cumulative cap, as this was the case in 2023, resulting in a higher net contribution for the group despite the lower revenues. Nemo Link has operated at a 100% capacity since the start of the year. Secondly, there was an increased contribution from EGI due to the improved margin management, which added EUR 1.1 million. However, these gains were partially offset by a few factors. There was a higher cost for the holding, which increased by EUR 8 million. This was primarily due to the higher funding costs associated with the acquisition of energyRe Giga and the financing of the organic growth in Germany. Lastly, WindGrid contributed negatively with EUR 2.5 million. This includes the equity pickup contribution from energyRe Giga, which currently has various projects under development. Elia Group has entered the market with a term loan and a senior bond to finance its organic growth in Germany and its investment in energyRe Giga. As previously announced, the group intends to allocate EUR 480 million of debt to fund the equity contribution into Eurogrid. After these two transactions, the cost of the holding for the debts stands at 3.8%, with a weighted debt duration of 5.9 years. Regarding liquidity, both the CP and the RCF commercial paper and revolving credit facility were completely undrawn at the end of June. Last but not least, we still need to cover the outlook for 2024. What can we expect there? Indeed. Based on a strong performance in the first half year, we have revised the full-year net profit range guidance upwards. We project that by the end of 2024, the net profit share of Elia Group will range between EUR 355 million and EUR 395 million. This points towards an adjusted return on equity of between 7%-8%. Examining the different segments, in Belgium, we aim for net profit between EUR 200 million and EUR 220 million, factoring in a Belgium 10-year OLO of around 3%. We plan to invest roughly EUR 1.4 billion. In Germany, we aim for a net profit between EUR 260 million and EUR 290 million, factoring in a base rate of 2.79% for regulatory return on equity, while investing roughly EUR 3.3 billion. The non-regulated segment and Nemo Link is expected to report a loss to the group's result in a range between -EUR 30 million and -EUR 35 million. While Nemo Link is expected to contribute around EUR 30 million profit, depending on the availability of the interconnector, the operational activities and project funding of the holding and the other non-regulated activities like WindGrid and energyRe Giga will likely result in a loss ranging between -EUR 40 million and -EUR 45 million. Finally, the group secured its funding for the German CapEx plan and other funding needs, pointing towards a funding cost of around -EUR 20 million. As usual, this guidance does not consider any potential M&A transactions. So, in a summary, a strong first half year with solid results led us to lift up the net profit guidance towards year-end. This is based on the ramp-up of the CapEx projects in the first half year, the proactive funding of this CapEx plan, and the strong operational performance despite some challenges. All of these factors contribute to our confidence in achieving these targets. Thank you, Marco. Before we move on to the Q&A, Catherine, I would like to invite you to share some final thoughts with us. What will be the points of focus in the second half of this year? We have defined five points of focus. CapEx delivery remains the main focus, along with the strengthening of our financial foundations. Talent management and supply chains are important areas of focus in terms of achieving our ambition. Finally, digitalization to unlock the flexibility in the system is important. After the election, we will invest in building relationships with the new policymakers at Belgium and European level. Our new studies on the future energy mix in Belgium and the future of offshore development will certainly be interesting areas to explore and discuss with them. Yeah, indeed, the second half of the year is presenting itself as busy, but interesting, as always, I would say. I suggest we now move on to the Q&A section. In a moment, we'll do a position switch because Yannick Dekoninck, Head of Capital Markets, will take my place during the Q&A session. Stéphanie Luyten, our Head of Investor Relations, will guide us through this Q&A session. Stéphanie, could you already share the first question with us, please? Yes, good morning, Marleen. Before we go ahead, can I please ask all of our analysts to ask or keep their questions limited to 2 or 3 questions? We will go in an alphabetical order and start with ABN AMRO. Please go ahead with your first question. Yeah. Do you hear me? Yes. Yes. Very good. Congrats. Great presentation. Despite, let's say, all the problems you counted with the storms. My first question is primarily on net debt. Net debt at the first half was slightly higher than consensus. Can you again give guidance for where you expect to end the year? Previously, you said around EUR 13 billion. Is it now more likely to become EUR 13.5 billion or EUR 14 billion? And related to that, can you also maybe give guidance on what we should expect from the EEG cash in the coming months? I've seen the huge debates in Germany on how to fund the TSOs. Is this level of around, let's say, EUR 500 million now the level we should look for? Maybe final question for now, I'm missing in this press release or in this presentation a repeat on your required equity for the coming years, as well as on the expected timing of that equity raise. Is it busy changing, or is it still as it was before? Thank you, Thijs. I propose that I take the question on net debt and then give the floor to Marco for EEG and equity. So, indeed, Thijs, for the end of year, we expect to end the net debt of around EUR 13.3 billion, so quite close to the indication we have provided during our capital markets day. On your question on the EEG, Marco? Yeah, happy to take it. As recently, government decided on an extra budget in 2024 and on the budget on 2025 already, and both include a significant lift-up of the amounts foreseen for the EEG funding. So that is something we still can count on, that the difference between the market price and the subvention scheme will be equalized by the government, meaning that in terms of projection towards year-end, the mechanism which we currently have in place, which includes a slight liquidity corridor, will continue as it is today. So your indication that there is a kind of surplus at the end of year is the one which we are relying on as the mechanism has not been changed, and the funds are available to a degree. Furthermore, on the net debt, Yannick already pointed out that potentially both entities will maintain active on the debt market, so both ETB and Eurogrid, while we are confirming that we are not tapping into equity market in 2024. That's still valid. As we recently achieved the authorization, we are now working with the board of directors on a concrete plan, as there are several aspects to consider. One is, of course, the deployment of the capital, as efficiency is something which is a huge driver, which we are following. Of course, market capacity is another one, momentum too, and all these aspects are considered in the plan. It's too early now to announce how we are going to tap the market. Thank you very much. I think, Tess, that answered all of your questions. If it's okay, then let's move on to Barclays. Dominic, please go ahead. Hi, good morning. Can you hear me? [Crosstalk] Yes, we can. Wonderful. Congrats on your strong set of results this morning. I've got two questions. Please, one on guidance, and I think you've already answered the second one on capital raise. On guidance, just on Germany, it looks like your assumptions for CapEx and base rates are the same from the CMDO earlier this year. Is it fair to assume the step-up in the net profit majorly comes from incentives, or are there other things to kind of think about on that side? And just on the capital raise, I hear you're still looking at the plans and thinking about a number of things. Do you have an idea of timing as to when you would have completed that process? Fully understand nothing that raise itself isn't happening this year, but as to when you'd have completed the process of thinking through your options, when do you think that might be? Thank you. Well, maybe to pick up the guidance on Germany, it's fair that we increased mainly the guidance in Germany, which comes from two main factors. On one hand, as we pointed out, the strong operational performance is rather robust, something we rely on, and we do see, even though we incorporate already some amounts for the storm damages, that we are continuing to outperform the base year revenues in that regards. Furthermore, down the road, the effectiveness of the new staff hired and the charging to the investment programs is something contributing to that performance as well. So that's one of the fundamentals. And the second one is in terms of the CapEx, that we are optimizing the schedules to some extent that can benefit from certain optimization, in particular in relation to the commissioning states in several projects, as this is contributing to the results significantly. As being fast in commissioning is a benefit for both cash generation and profits. In terms of capital increase, I will take it this time. So basically, the answer is no change here as compared to what we have said in the past, no change in terms of timing. Like Marco mentioned, you probably have seen in the press that we have the authorizations in terms of authorized capital, but that there is also a date in this authorization, which makes that at the earliest a capital increase could take place in 2025, which is confirming what we said in the past in terms of timing. In terms of amounts, no change here is neither. We are still contemplating over the five-year period, something between EUR 4-4.5 billion in equity or equity-linked instruments, like we said in the Capital Markets Day. We'll take into consideration, of course, profitability, which is an important element, knowing that these funds need to be invested in the investment base that will be built over the five-year time period. We'll also, like Marco just said, consider the market capacity. At the moment that we believe there is something more concrete we can inform the markets about, we will do. Thank you, Demi, for your questions. Let's now go to Bernstein, Bartek, it's up to you. Hey, thank you for taking my questions. Just a few very short ones, technical ones. On the storms and overall the climate change, what are the regulatory mechanisms guaranteeing that you are getting back all the costs incurred during the storms? I mean, are there regulatory mechanisms guaranteeing that you are getting back 100%, or are there other mechanisms like insurance payments which make you basically even on any, let's call it, climate change impacts on your results? Secondly, if we look at your procurement, you spoke a lot about this, but could you actually tell us how much of your FY24, FY28 business plan is already procured? And consequently, also, if there is any CapEx overrun, would it be 100% reflected in your WRAP, or you are actually running a risk of underperforming on your CapEx? Maybe last question on this capital increase, not asking about the timing, but asking about your thinking, if there was a strategic or industrial player wanting to engage in you as a minority participant, would you consider this, or is it something you are absolutely excluding? Thank you. Okay, let's start in the order you raised your questions, and with the storm damages, it's fair to say that there's no clear answer on that one. And partly, we potentially will suffer from that. In particular, in Germany, we already embedded certain costs which we potentially need to carry. On the other side, on the replacement, we are relatively confident that these costs will be considered within the asset base, as we usually capitalize a huge portion of those replacements. So there's a mixed answer in that regard. Furthermore, down the road, the insurance payment is something which potentially we have a look at in Belgium. As in Germany, these old lines are not insured anymore, as the book value is zero on these lines, and we decided a couple of years ago not to insure anymore. Mixed answer as well. There will be something we need to carry within the system. On the other side, we do have some buckets where we can allocate the cost to and are confident that there's a coverage connected to that. Maybe if I can add for Belgium, because you described the situation mainly for Germany. So for Belgium, the lines in question were insured, and so based on the current insurance policy, we'll first have to do everything we can to recover those amounts from the insurance companies. Second, in case of new investments to be done, and after deduction of the payments of the insurance companies, these will enter the WRAP. And the costs that we can do in urgency are seen as OpEx costs and are, let's say, entering in the amounts of the OpEx costs, like they were mentioned in the past at the moment of the first guidance. So we don't expect for Belgium a strong impact on the profitability of the company after this event. That's for the first question. Yeah, then maybe pick up the CapEx overrun as long as we can give evidence that these costs are market-based, and that's one of the main reasons why we are using public tender procedures on that one. All the costs are considered in the WRAP, so there's no cut on that one, as there's no budget logic. So it's a consideration in the WRAP, and the basis of the remuneration and the depreciation will increase by these costs. That's the situation we are both in Belgium and in Germany on the CapEx side. On the procurement, I think the commitment is increasing year by year. So usually, the front year is, of course, much higher committed, and we are now entering into additional commitments over the year. So far, the total disclosure, which we have made by end of last year, was around EUR 12 billion on the EUR 30 billion CapEx program, and this is further increasing. But of course, it's moving all the time by one year. With the landwind, for instance, the commitment is going up significantly, knowing that not all of these costs, for instance, will occur in the five-year horizon. So it's a little bit hard to say how much of the EUR 3 billion will be affecting the five-year horizon, but taking the fact that until 2032, this project shall be finished, you can assume that a significant portion will be added to our commitments. And that was one of the major reasons to increase the liquidity, so the revolving credit facilities, as this needs to be backed from the rating standpoint by available liquidity. So then the question on. The first question of the Noveron, so in case that we would spend more on the investment that was initially budgeted, I think on this one, first, we need to demonstrate to both regulators that we are acting in a professional way so that we do everything possible to buy at market conditions, which we are doing by definition by organizing tenders when we contract for materials, but also for works by third parties. And provided, of course, that we can demonstrate this, the cost linked to the investment, the amounts that we pay to suppliers will indeed enter the regulated asset base in both regulation. Of course, with the increasing amounts, we can expect a higher scrutiny from the different regulators. We can expect to have to justify everything, but as a principle in the regulation, it's very clear that the investment that we need to do for the benefit of the entire society, that those investments are entering the Regulated Asset Base. That's for your question on possible overrun, so covered in the regulatory mechanism. And then the last question on possible minority investor, I would answer that at this stage, and having in mind the five-year time horizon, we don't exclude any scenario. I'm, of course, not saying anything for the short term, but if you look at the situation over the five years, that's a scenario that we are not a priori excluding. Thank you very much. I think let's now move to Citi. Piotr, please go ahead. Hi, good morning, and thank you for the presentation this morning. I'll have a couple of questions around your raising capital strategy. So firstly, I wanted to ask you about TenneT. We've seen that the transaction with the German government failed, and potentially the asset may end up in the market. Would that change your strategy because essentially you compete for the same pool of capital? And therefore, are you 100% sure that 2025 is the first time you're going to raise capital, and why do you lock yourself into this timing? So that would be on TenneT. And second, is there a constraint around the timing of your capital increase related to the finances of your main shareholder, and can you give a bit of clarity on the situation on this front? And finally, a small technical question. You gave us guidance on the year-end net debt, but what is the kind of financing rate you expect on this EUR 13.3 billion debt? Thank you very much. So thank you for your question.[crosstalk] The last one. The last one, if you could repeat the first and the second question, we have clearly understood, but the last question was not completely clear to us in the room. Yes, I just wanted to understand what is the financing rate you expect on the EUR 13.3 billion net debt, how much it will increase further from current level? Okay. Do you start with this one and then? Yes, I think that overall, at group level in our press release, we have indicated what is currently our average cost of debt. I think that's quite clearly mentioned as well. We still need to do some financing this year in a relatively limited size at the level of ETB, but we also need to come back later this year at Eurogrid. Now, when we look at the current latest rates we are on the market, considering that ETB is rated a BBB+ rating, we are expecting a rate which is in the magnitude of 3.5%. For Eurogrid, as it's rated BBB, we expect that it will be slightly higher, although we still need to determine what would be the maturity at which we are issuing, and so that will also be considered depending on the market conditions. On the question on the capital increase, so on your first question, there were two parts. It was a part on the timing, and it was a part on, let's say, TenneT's impact in terms of capital increase that we can do. In terms of timing, I think the only statement that we gave is that there will be no capital increase in 2024. That's something that we confirm once again today. That's something also that you have seen probably in the provisions for the authorized capital, where the first date by which we could do a capital raise is in the year 2025. Do we look at evolution regarding the TenneT file? Of course, when you need to go into the market for raising capital, you need to look at the environment and what is coming around you. We are doing that, of course. That being said, we believe that the profile of Elia Group is slightly different, quite a little bit more diversified in terms of regulatory risks, while we acknowledge at the same time that there are massive needs for capital in both companies and in other TSOs as well. And that's something that we need to take into consideration when we start reflecting on the right timing and the right amount for doing the capital increase. In terms of main shareholders, so the Publi-T, to name them, they remain very committed to the strategy of the company. That's something that we are repeating and that they are confirming both in public. They are also very committed to subscribe to capital increase. So that's something that we said in the past and that we confirm for the moment that there will be an operation in the market. Thank you very much, Berekli. Thank you, Piotr, for your questions. Let's now move to Degroof. Chad, please go ahead. Are there any questions from the side of Degroof? If not, we can move to Deutsche Bank. Maybe Olly, please go ahead. Thank you very much. Two questions for me, please. So the first one is still focusing on potential capital raise. The first part of that is, does the incoming new CEO, whoever that may be, will that have any bearing on when the timing of the raise happens? Second question around the equity raise is, how is your thinking in terms of, would you rather we spoke about previously how your CapEx plans increase materially towards the end of the plan. And so then ideally, you might look to raise potentially in two tranches, one at the start of the plan and perhaps a larger amount at the end of the plan, given the CapEx phasing. Is that the right way we should think about it, or is that still up for debate? And then the last question I have is on, for Eurogrid, how much equity are you planning to push down and inject into that business this year? If you can provide any detail there, that would be helpful. Thank you. So I will take your first two questions looking at the team, because maybe you want to answer some of them as well. [crosstalk] But so I will take the first two. And then I will indeed, and you can complement afterwards and take the last one. So in terms of capital increase, I think that the amounts and the sequencing of the capital increase are really driven by the funding of the CapEx plan rather than on considerations linked to one person. Of course, a new CEO will look at the situation, will understand and have to understand everything. But honestly, I think that the drivers behind the capital increase are very much linked to the strategy of the company and are very much linked to the investment program that we have both in Germany and in Belgium. So I don't expect a material impact linked to that. Second element, second question that you raised was about, let's say, if you do a capital increase, is it something that maybe you will do in one shot? Is it something that you will spread a little bit over the period? So like we said, it's not something on which we have taken a firm decision today. I think it was Marco's first statement. That being said, there are indeed a number of considerations which are quite high on the agenda, and especially two considerations that were already named. The first one is profitability. And like you know, the profitability is linked to the investment and so the timing by which those investments are done. And the second is market capacity. So starting from the current market value, market capitalization that we have, what is market capacity from the market? So that will be taken into consideration. Once again, once there is clear and concrete information to mention, we will come with this information. If it's okay for you, I will give the floor to Marco. Yeah, on Eurogrid, the question on the capital injection this year, I think in the course of the presentation, we named the number which has been raised via the debt issuance of the Elia Group this year, where EUR 480 million are foreseen to push down into equity of Eurogrid. And if you take the 20% portion of KfW on top of that, you're ending up with EUR 600 million. And as we got confirmation that the German government and KfW is following that, this is the size you can expect as an injection in the German segment this year. Thanks very much. Thank you, Olly. I see now that Degroof managed to get his headset working. So Chad, please go ahead. Yes, thank you. Thank you, Stéphanie. So I just have one question. It's regarding the VC investment weeks ago. So I really want to understand actually what's the ambition with the VC portfolio of Elia, what's your expected target in terms of five, for instance? Yeah, so the first element in terms of ambition is to get access to new technologies, new services, new developments surrounding digitalization of the electricity market, and so increasing the possibility to unlock the flexibility, so managing in different ways many consumption of electricity. You know that's something that we have already discussed in the past, that with the increase of renewable in the market at the generation site, there is really a need for managing the electricity system in a different way, looking at balancing the system in a different way, and in that context, making sure that consumption is made much more viable than what it is today is absolutely key. The way to go there is by increasing the digitalization in the electricity system, so increasing connectivity, data capture algorithm, and building an ecosystem that will lead to unlocking this flexibility. That's what we want to do. We want to remain ahead of all technological developments. We have built a very specific structure to make sure that the knowledge that we can gain through the participation to a number of committees within the fund, that this knowledge is brought back within the entire organization with a number of people who have been identified and who are responsible for bringing this information back. But so first is to make sure that we have all the necessary knowledge to optimize the flexibility and the unlocking of the flexibility in the system. The second element, of course, is that by doing this, we remain informed about the best startups which are active in this market, and we can more easily do a number of contracts with those startups or possibly, in a further take, small participation in order to make sure that those developments linked to unlocking the flexibility, that those developments are accelerated. Thank you, Chad, for your question. You have a follow-up question? Yeah, just my second question was about the expected target size in the future in the VC portfolio of Elia. So today, it's EUR 12.5 million invested as a first investment in VC. But what do you expect in the future? Do you see other investments? No, it's not something. So for the time being, let's first build the connection with those startups. Let's first make sure that we can indeed benefit from the knowledge that are developed by those startups and bring it back within the company. Let's first make sure that we indeed do a number of operational contracts to support the unlocking of the flexibility, and then we will reassess the position. But in the next three years, you can consider that the amount that we have and the investment that we have done is the only one that we will do. Thank you, Catherine. Let's now move to Goldman Sachs, Mafalda. Do you have any questions for the team? Hi, thank you, Stéphanie. I have two quick questions, if I may, on Germany regulation. The first one would be just to confirm if there's any parameter that is still pending on this side, and if so, what would be the timeline for it to be fully finalized? And the second one is whether Elia has any expectations of engaging in further discussions about a potential review of the ROE for the existing assets. Asking this because some of your peers seemed in the past keen to engage in further discussions and would like to understand what's your stance here. Thank you. Maybe I pick it up, and Yannick, you can add on. So for the offshore scheme, the final determination of the return rate is outstanding. However, there's a consultation running and includes the same rate which we already presented, and we do not expect that this is subject of a change. So it will include the 4.13% post-tax for assets prior to 2024 and the 5.7% ROE for the new assets. That mainly tackling the second question. We, of course, are in discussion with the regulator, but so far, there is no real movement in that regard. We claimed against that in the highest court of Düsseldorf, and potentially we are ending up in a decision at the highest court in Karlsruhe. However, this is not being visible for the time being, as I think the negotiation is being scheduled beginning of next year. It's still running, but we don't expect immediate action of the Velas on the return rates. What is still open for the electricity sector is the general productivity factor to be set, but this is of minor importance for the German entity. As usual, the rate is relatively small. It has been 0.9% last time. That's something we still apply for the time being. But we expect taking the mechanism into account that the number will not be higher than it has been the case before. But I think it's very complete, Marco, and we confirm also Mafalda that for Belgium, everything is fixed, so no changes are anticipated there. Great. Thank you, Marco. Yannick, let's now go to ING. Quirijn, do you have a question for us? Yeah, good morning. Can you hear me? Yes. Perfect. Great. Thank you. Now, on your CapEx plans, so is it correct that we can expect an update at the end of, let me say, the third quarter somewhere when you report that? Is that correct? And what about, let me say, a second Nemo Link? Is there any progression to mention there in a non-regulatory business? Could you be more precise on your last question? What is it exactly? I think there was consideration of a second line between Belgium and the U.K. So maybe that's a little bit further off. So that was my question. And I have another question later on. Do we want to start? With Nautilus then? So Nautilus is indeed a project that we have in the pipe for a new connection between the U.K. and Belgium. It has been a first consultation of the project by Ofgem that ended, I think it was in March or April this year. Based on the outcome of this consultation, we have reworked a number of topics, like for example, the landing of the connection points at the U.K. side, just to give one example. And there is currently, as we speak, a second consultation that runs based on which we expect to have all the feedback of the market by the end of the year at the latest. So basically, we are continuing to work on this interconnection, which remains quite key for a country like Belgium. Like I said during the presentation, Belgium is a country which is short in renewable energy. We have a scarcity in terms of renewable energy, so it's extremely important to interconnect the country with others which are long in terms of renewable energy. That's something which remains very high on the agenda. That was for your second question. In terms of CapEx update, I think we do not see any reason to deviate from the practice which we have done in the past. So I think it's right to expect some updates on that in connection with the quarter three figures. As we do see that the ramp-up of the CapEx program is progressing in accordance to the plan, that's something which we will consider in the announcement which we are going to make then in the course of the Q3 figures with an outlook to the years ahead of. Yeah. My other question is about energyRe Giga. How's the progression there? I think they were going to deliver a project sooner, let me say, quite soon, I think 2026. Can you update us on that development there? Yeah. So in terms of projects done by energyRe, I would say it's progressing according to the plan. So what we announced is that some of the projects that were in the portfolio of the company would be expected to be completed and commissioned in 2026. And that's still something that we have in the plan. Just as a reminder, there were three big projects in the portfolio of energyRe. Two of the three are related to transmission line, and one is, sorry, onshore transmission line, and one is relating to offshore. And so what was in the plan was the commissioning and sort of sell down of very small projects linked to the onshore transmission investment. So progressing according to the plan. For the offshore part, of course, we have this upcoming election in the U.S., which has pushed every actor active in the offshore development to slow down a little bit the expenses and the OpEx. And that's also something that we have done. So we are looking carefully at the situation there, and we are managing the spending on the offshore project, which is in the portfolio, the one with the smallest value. Nevertheless, we are progressing in terms of authorization on this project as well. We received, I think it was in April or May, so a little bit earlier, the PPAs on this project called Leading Light Wind. So at the site of the revenues, we have some clarity. The prices linked to the PPAs will be subject to inflation and a special inflation taking into consideration also the cost of material until the commissioning of the project. But for the rest of the expenses to be done, we are, of course, cautious like any other actors active in the offshore business for the time being in the U.S. Thank you. Thank you, Quirijn, for your questions. Let's now move to KBC's. Wim, please go ahead. Yes, hi. Good morning. Thanks for the informative presentation. I've got three questions. I'll start with one for Marco or Yannick on the capital increase. So on the Capital Markets Day, you explained that you could also resort to equity-like products to finance. Maybe you can give some more insight. Have you thought about which preference, what kind of products that could be, talking about hybrids or convertibles? And maybe if you can, give some insight on how that decision process would work. So in 2025, which way, depending on markets' conditions, you could go? Well, I think that indeed we included, we said that equity-linked instruments could be part of the capital raise. I think the authorization that we have in place also allows us, for example, to use a convertible bond. So a hybrid or a convertible bond could be part of our strategy. But like Marco already said, we are still looking today at what are the best options, considering on the one hand, the market capacity that we see in the equity, but also what are the best realization of that equity, considering the growth of our CapEx plan. So today, we cannot clearly give you guidance how it would be structured as such, but those options like a hybrid or a convertible could be part of the structuring. Okay. Thanks. And I've got two smaller questions for Catherine, if I may. Catherine, you mentioned that the elections in Belgium resulted in a likely change in coalition. Can you elaborate a little bit on what that means for Elia? And also this morning, I read in the newspaper that there is already pressure on the CEO of the Port of Antwerp, which you know very well. Is there any relation between the elections and the new CEO at Elia? Is there anything that, let's say, you have to consult or that you have to await certain positions to be put in place? Okay. So on the first element, so the result of the election in Belgium has led to a center-right, let's say, representation, or at least forces are more center-right than what they have been in the past. You know that Belgium is a country where we have, on the one hand, federal government, and then on the other hand, a number of regional governments. As we speak, there was already one regional government in Wallonia, and discussions are ongoing at the other level, so the federal level and the regional level for doing governments. But expectations are indeed that it would be more center-right than what it was in the past. What would be or could be the consequences for Elia? I think that energy policy is, of course, very important to any government. In the past, it was very much driven by the willingness to reduce CO2 emissions. But what we have seen in the recent years, the last two years after the war in Ukraine, is that the electricity change years and that the energy agenda becomes also driven by willingness to ensure competitiveness for the industry and becoming more independent from Russian gas than it was in the past. And so all in all, I don't expect impact, if it's behind your question, on the investment plan that we have published last year, in November last year, because everything which is included in this plan will, of course, on the one hand, reinforce the independence in terms of security of supply, and on the other hand, contribute to the competitiveness on the industry. On the long run, but there I am after 2035, you might expect, and that's something that we are already seeing today in the newspapers, you might expect some discussion on what's the ideal energy mix for Belgium. But it's really in the very long run because you know that decisions that we take today will be implemented, taken into account all the permitting, ordering of materials, and so on, at best in 10 years from now. So after 2035, you can expect once again discussions on best energy mix. And it's that context that we will publish the blueprint that I mentioned during the presentation, which has the intention to really assess a number of options, different options with the cost linked to all those options. So for sure, an interesting read in the context of new governments. On your second question on the possible link between the election and the appointment of the CEO, I am very clear it's completely disconnected. So there was a process which has been initiated by the Board of Directors and the Nomination Committee, based on which a headhunter, well-known, with a very good reputation, has been identified and selected. This headhunter is conducting a first selection of candidates, which are then proposed to the Board of Directors. And so there is no link with the results of the election, neither with the timing of the formation of a government. Thanks. That's clear. If I may, just one last on the flexibility theme, which you stressed, and also the picture you showed on the negative energy prices due to the solar power. You say, "Okay, we need to find solutions." Obviously, you might have some ideas on that. Is there anything you can share? It's about batteries, it's about dynamic pricing, or? Yeah, all of that. All of that, and also making the consumption more flexible. So like often in a sector, there is no one solution that fits all. You need to work on different solutions. So currently, what we see is that with the massive investments in solar panels that have happened in the last months, there was a huge production of solar energy in the summer that is combined with nuclear units, and that can exceed at the moment that the consumption is low, and so especially in the weekends, that can exceed the sum of the consumption plus the export capacity that we have. So as we speak, it's a possibility. So it's not yet a situation that has occurred in the last weeks or last days. Although in April, at one moment, we were very close to a situation where we had too much of production compared to the consumption and the export capacity. So there are, on the short term, a number of, let's say, solutions that have been implemented, and there are solutions for the long term. On the short term, the solutions which have been implemented are very much linked to the management of the consumption. But often, this solar capacity is connected at the level of distribution and not at the level of transmission. And so we need to be in contact and to contact the distribution system operators so that they can take actions to avoid an excess of production of solar capacity at a certain moment of the time. And that's what has been agreed upon between TSOs and DSOs. That's for the short term. Of course, for the longer run, we want to work on, let's say, market-based solutions, not only solutions where you ask customers to interrupt the consumption or generators to interrupt the generation, but really market-based solutions. And those market-based are, of course, storage. That's one element. It's, of course, making sure that the moment of the consumption is automatically adjusted based on price signals showing that the energy is very cheap at a certain moment of the time so that there was some flexibility in the consumption that is organized. And so that's part of the solutions we are working on together with an ecosystem, of course. It's not something that we are doing alone. All right. Thanks a lot for taking my questions. Thank you. Thank you, Wim. Let's now move to Kepler Cheuvreux. Juan, do you have any questions left for the team? Hi, thank you. Yes, I have actually two follow-up questions, if I may. The first one is on the comments you made on the market capacity consideration of the equity financing. There is a clear equity overhang that is weighted on your share price performance and therefore on your market cap. So how is the group looking at this risk? And could the group, in that sense, accelerate the funding to remove or reduce this uncertainty from the market? So that is the first question. And the second one is on the top management roles. Can you please provide on where can we expect an update over the final decision of this CEO position and therefore the CFO as well? Thanks. I will start with the last question. So in terms of when can we expect an update, I will say after the summer break, so likely in September, we will be able to give you an update on the name of the new CEO. The goal of the Board of Directors, like I was saying, was really, as from the beginning, and is still today, to onboard the new CEO by the end of the year at the latest. Yeah, in regards of the equity raise, I think we mentioned all the aspects already. Of course, beside market capacities, we said that the market conditions are something to consider as well. Overhang is part of the conditions which we are considering, knowing that, of course, all the other aspects like profitability are important one too. Therefore, we will make up our plans and continuing that what we already have stated, that we are carefully elaborating our options to come with a plan which is then feasible to cover all these aspects which we mentioned. There's none superior to others. O kay. Thank you very much. Thank you, Juan. Let's now move to Morgan Stanley. Harry, do you have some questions for the team left? Yes. Thanks for taking my questions. Most of mine have been asked, but maybe two hopefully quicker ones. Firstly, you had an interesting section on procurement in the presentation, and you mentioned some assets and activities that you think are more at risk of bottlenecks or competitive pressures. If you can just elaborate on which assets those might be. So that's the first. And then the second one on Nemo, the EUR 30 million kind of guide for the full year seems somewhat conservative given the strength in H1. Just wondering if you can provide any more color on that. Is that a conservative estimate based on a normal year? If we therefore saw kind of a Pixel one, would we see a much higher number? Just some color there would be great. Thanks. Yeah. Maybe to start with the procurement, and then Yannick can take over the Nemo Link question then. To be blunt, it's more or less all the typical electrical equipment which we are talking about. Starting with the most important one is, of course, transformation assets, shunt reactor, HVDC components, cables, which are scarce in the market and where we have really a tight supplier market. And we are working on, on one end, extending the supplier base horizontally, but of course, going in particular in the big ones like the big offshore connections down into the sub-supplier set to unlock the potential to get delivered there and to, yeah, do our best that there's an efficient solution coming out of it. To answer your question, it's quite a broad set of things which we need to take into account as we do see sometimes in relatively small equipment pieces scarcity, while in bigger ones we don't. But we do see the other way around in other specific assets as well. And transformers, I mentioned, it's really rare goods. Then to tackle your question on the Nemo Link, indeed, Nemo Link had a very strong contribution over the first half, driven by 100% availability of the interconnector. Now, if you look at the second half of the year, there are some planned maintenance. There will be some outages of the cable. But also, we need to look at how the result of Nemo Link will evolve compared to the five-year assessment period, knowing that if the revenues are above the cap, that then the allowed revenues will be restricted. And so these elements have taken into consideration in the guidance that we have given of EUR 30 million for the remaining of the year. Very clear. Thanks. Thank you. I see that Bartek has one more follow-up question. Bartek, please go ahead. Yes, I do. Thank you very much. Just one thing on this guidance in Germany and what you mentioned that partially it comes from stronger operational performance. I just wonder two things here, whether this is something sustainable, so consequently could lead to higher earnings in the future as well. So whatever element of ROE outperformance we are assuming here, we should upgrade it throughout the curve. And also whether this is an impact of inflation indexation of OpEx in Germany, as we all know that the FY22 or 2022 inflation had an impact on allowed OpEx in 2024. It was, I think, around 6%. So consequently, there could have been quite high OpEx allowance upward indexation and thus the operational performance. Thank you for this. You named a few of the items. Of course, inflation adjustments is part of the story. That's true. And that's something we are benefiting if we are managing to maintain the cost below the increase of this inflation. And currently, adjustment is at 3%, as we usually have a two-year time delay. And it's indeed the fact that the higher inflation will be applicable next year and the year after, which we faced the previous years. That's something we are benefiting from. However, in terms of return rate, taking the total amount compared to the asset remuneration into account, it will not play a major role. It will help us to outperform the regulatory scheme. That's true. If this is pushing up by a 0.5% return rate, I would doubt on that one. So I think that's not marginal, but it's negligible compared to the level of the CapEx program. Thank you. Thank you, Bertik. Then I have received a few questions in writing from our analyst at BNP Paribas Exane, who couldn't join. So I will read them out. So the first question is linked to the OLO. And where do we see the 10-year OLO going for the end of the year? And if we could give some indication of the sensitivity in terms of net income, and the same would be applicable for the base rate in Germany. A second question is linked to the CapEx execution. And if we see that there could be any risks of falling below the announced guidance. And then the last one is on permitting. We have made quite some progress in Germany in permitting. Can we give an update on the permitting in Belgium? Thank you. So I will maybe take the question on the OLO. So the OLO, as given, as mentioned in the guidance, we foresee an OLO of around 3% on average for the year. If you look at the first six months of the year, we were around 2.96. So I think we are quite confident there in our guidance. In terms of impact, 10 basis points as in 2024 on ETB, a net profit impact of around EUR 1 million on the net result. If we look then in Germany, in Germany, we factor in a base rate of 2.79. If we look at the first six months of the year, we were around the 2.7 that Marco has indicated there. It's the other way around too. Sensitivity in Belgium is a little bit higher than in Germany. It's EUR 2 million in Belgium and EUR 1 million in Germany on 10 basis points. Okay. CapEx execution. Of course, we do see a strong ramp-up in the first half year. We never spent that much money, and we never progressed that well on the projects. Knowing that, of course, our profile is backloaded in the course of the year, and there's a longer way to go in terms of total spending, as we expect a total of EUR 4.7 billion to be spent over the year. But we do see ourselves well on track in that regards. So that there are still some risks to be managed, no doubt on that, but we do see them under control so that we can confirm the guidance which we have given in terms of CapEx spending over the year. In terms of permissions in Belgium, yeah, I would say it's quite close to the big flagship projects where there's an ongoing debate. However, we assume in our CapEx outlook, which we have given, some of the debates, some of the discussions, and the times connected to that. So it's based on best estimate, not on best possible, the timeline there. And this is something we do see still, yeah, having some room for improvement, no doubt on that. However, at least for the first backbone, we are progressing for Boucle du Hainaut. I don't know whether you have other knowledge there. Yeah. So I think what you said is completely true. If you want to compare the situation in Germany and in Belgium as a general statement, I think we can say that we have not seen in Belgium the type of measures that have been taken in Germany and which allowed for, let's say, a strong push of permitting procedures in a number of projects. So we remain working on permitting like it has always been done, but there were no administrative actions that have been implemented in order to ease or in order to accelerate the permitting. That's one element. That being said, most of the big efforts are dedicated towards those three big projects that are contributing on approximately 60% of the investment plan in Belgium, and which are the islands, which are Ventilus, and which are Boucle du Hainaut. On the islands, we have already received the projects that are necessary, and we are progressing, like you have seen in the videos, we are progressing quite well in building the first steps of the islands. On Ventilus, we received a little bit earlier this year an approval, or we went through an important step in the permitting process. So we received what we call the permit. And that's something which was foreseen at the moment that we received it in the plan. So now the efforts are indeed focused on Boucle du Hainaut, where the new energy minister at the Walloon level will have to take a number of decisions in the next months. For the time being, the file is being looked at by the administration. And we are in dialogue with the administration. Of course, we will start the dialogue with the representative of the minister in Wallonia as soon as the holiday period is behind us. Thank you, Catherine. Thank you, Marco. Thank you, Yannick, for answering all of our questions. I think that brings our Q&A session to an end. If you would have any further follow-up questions, you know where to reach the IR team. We're always happy to set up a follow-up call. With that, I hand it back over to the studio to Marleen. Okay. Thank you, Stéphanie. If there are no further questions, I suggest we bring this presentation to a close. Thank you, Yannick, Stéphanie, Catherine, and Marco for your contributions. Thank also to our colleagues behind the scenes, Helen, Catherine, and Marilyn. We'd also like to thank the director, Jan van Hullen, and the whole technical team who was here in the studio today. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us, and enjoy your summer break.