I'll work through this step-by-step following the S&P methodology.

## Step 1: Identify the Relevant Industry

HERA S.P.A. is an Italian multi-utility company based in Bologna. It operates in regulated utilities (gas, electricity, water distribution) and unregulated activities (waste management, energy trading). The company fits the **Regulated Utilities / Multi-utilities** sector, with some unregulated components.

## Step 2: Estimate Adjusted Debt

**Reported Debt:**
- Noncurrent Financial Liabilities: 5,689,900,000 EUR
- Current Financial Liabilities: 650,100,000 EUR
- Total reported debt = 5,689,900,000 + 650,100,000 = 6,340,000,000 EUR

**Lease Liabilities (treated as debt under S&P methodology):**
- Noncurrent Lease Liabilities: 55,100,000 EUR
- Current Lease Liabilities: 21,300,000 EUR
- Total leases = 76,400,000 EUR

**Pension Deficit:**
- Noncurrent Provisions for Employee Benefits: 92,000,000 EUR
- This represents the pension/employee benefit obligation. S&P typically adds underfunded pension obligations.
- Pension deficit ≈ 92,000,000 EUR

**Surplus Cash Adjustment:**
- S&P typically does not net all cash for utilities but may allow some netting. For regulated utilities, S&P is generally conservative about cash netting. Given the very large cash balance (1,942,400,000 EUR), I'll assume a modest portion is operational. However, given the significant increase in cash likely tied to recent debt issuance (2,127,000,000 in new noncurrent borrowings), S&P would likely not deduct the full amount. I'll be conservative and not deduct cash, as S&P typically doesn't for utilities unless there's a clear plan to use it for debt reduction.

**Adjusted Debt Calculation:**
Adjusted_Debt = 6,340,000,000 + 76,400,000 + 92,000,000 = 6,508,400,000 EUR

## Step 3: Estimate Adjusted EBITDA

**Reported EBITDA:**
- Operating Profit (EBIT) = 533,800,000 EUR
- Amortisation, Depreciation and Provisions = 667,100,000 EUR
- However, "Amortisation Depreciation And Provisions" includes provisions. Let me check:
  - D&A from cash flow statement: 478,600,000 EUR
  - Allocation to provisions: 188,500,000 EUR
  - Total = 667,100,000 EUR (matches)

- For EBITDA, we want EBIT + D&A (not provisions that aren't D&A):
  - EBITDA = 533,800,000 + 478,600,000 = 1,012,400,000 EUR
  - Adding back provisions to get closer to S&P approach: provisions of 188,500,000 are non-cash charges. S&P typically adds back D&A but not necessarily all provisions. However, the reported "Amortisation Depreciation And Provisions" line suggests provisions are part of operating costs. 
  
  Actually, the standard EBITDA = Operating Profit + D&A = 533,800,000 + 478,600,000 = 1,012,400,000 EUR

**Lease Adjustments:**
- S&P adds back lease depreciation component. With right-of-use assets and lease payments of ~43,400,000, the lease-related depreciation is approximately the decline in ROU assets plus new leases. For simplicity, S&P adds the lease payment back to EBITDA. Lease payments ≈ 43,400,000 EUR (already included as operating cost reduction).
- Since leases are already capitalized under IFRS 16, EBITDA already excludes lease costs. No additional adjustment needed as D&A already includes ROU depreciation.

**Pension Adjustments:**
- S&P adjusts for pension service costs vs. cash contributions. The difference is typically small. I'll skip this minor adjustment.

**Adjusted EBITDA:**
Adjusted_EBITDA ≈ 1,012,400,000 EUR

## Step 4: Calculate Adjusted Debt / Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted_Debt / Adjusted_EBITDA = 6,508,400,000 / 1,012,400,000 = 6.43

<answer>6.43</answer>