The Board of Directors of the Trieste AREA Science Park Consortium has approved the annual accounts for 2010. A positive result has been achieved: current revenues reached 23 million euros, an increase of 14.3%, while corresponding expenses grew by just 4.4%. About 14 of the 23 million euros reported in AREA's accounts came from commercial activities and national and European projects. Financial management showed positive signs, closing with a balance of 2.6 million euros (+328%).

Part of this balance has been earmarked for new investments, while around 1.5 million euros will go to cover overdue debts that have become difficult to collect in view of the ongoing financial crisis. Specifically, investments doubled in 2010, reaching a total of 6.7 million euros, divided between development projects linked to alternative energy (4 million euros) and research programmes (1.2 million euros); refurbishment of the Park and other minor investments absorbed the remaining amount. The budget surplus, a measure of the organisation's liquidity, rose from 1.3 to 2.5 million euros.

On the financial front, the gross operating result, a measure of a company's ability to create value, reached 3.66 million euros, an increase of 221% on 2009; the net operating result (EBIT) was 294 thousand euros (+129%). "The AREA 2010 Annual Accounts are a combination of light and shadow," commented AREA's chairman, Giancarlo Michellone.

"The areas of light are the huge revenues that we were able to generate thanks to our commercial activities and projects. The shadows are the concerns about the future linked to cuts at MIUR (Ministry of Education, University and Research), the block on staffing levels and the impossibility of managing everything with our current human resources alone. Hence we have made use of the opportunities afforded by collaborative ventures in Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG), drawing on the skills and activities of CER (Coordination of Research Bodies) and other businesses located in the area."

Within this framework the agreements and projects that AREA is closing at this time take on even greater strategic significance: the extension for a further three years of the Basilicata Innovazione project (€13.2m); the two year 300 Talenti/Lucania Futura project (€15m); the agreement with the region of Calabria to carry out the three year CalabriaInnova project (€24m), which refers to the framework agreement recently signed with Fincalabria SpA, an in-house company of the region of Calabria; the accreditation of Napoli Attiva Scrl (in partnership with Federico II University) for setting up new ROP-ERDF projects (Regional Operational Programme - European Regional Development Fund), within the context of the recent call for the creation of the Campania Innovazione regional network; the setting up of the Manufacturing Campus Melfi  project (€0.9m).

In addition, good progress is being made on agreements with the regions of Sicily and Sardinia and with the province of Bolzano. As far as the Energy projects are concerned, Enerplan 2 (for the FVG region) and Enerplan 3 (for southern Italy) are in their presentation phase, each with activities of just under 10 million euros.