"It's a tax on revenues, not profits. I am not excluding anything to protect the interests of the company against what I believe is disproportionate for us, compared to other, larger operators," CEO Nicola Monti said.

Rome approved a 10% levy on energy companies in March and this week announced it would raise it to 25% to help fund a package to shield firms and families from surging energy costs as the war in Ukraine escalates.

(Reporting by Giancarlo Navach; editing by Francesca Landini)