News ·  February 18th, 2015 , Barcelona

Abertis reports a like-for-like increase in net profit of over 6% to €655Mn in 2014

• The trend of traffic in Spain in the first weeks of 2015 confirms the positive tendency seen last year, with growth of more than 4%, levels last seen in 2006.

• In 2014, Abertis refinanced more than €1,500Mn, at an average cost of 2.6%. The Group's liquidity stands at more than €6,200Mn.

• Abertis met its targets in the 2011-2014 Strategic Plan, allowing it to increase its profitability and efficiency - with growth in its EBITDA margin and a total cost savings of €741Mn - to focus the company and to make it more attractive to the shareholder, with the distribution of €3,000Mn in dividends.

• Abertis' Board of Directors agreed, at proposal of the President, to create an only one Vice presidency of an executive nature that will goe back to the figure of the CEO, with the aim of adapting the governing bodies for the evolution of the company and preparing it for the future.
• At the Shareholders' Meeting to be held on 24th March, Abertis' Board of Directors will propose payment of a final dividend of €0.33 gross per share and a scrip issue consisting of one new share for every 20 old shares.

Abertis' results in 2014 show growth in all the main figures: income grew by 7%, EBITDA 10.5% and recurrent net profit 6%, in a year which was marked by the improvement in global traffic and consolidated the positive tendency of markets such as Spain, where traffic had not grown since 2007. The Group's net profit rose to €655Mn, a 6.2% increase on the previous year.

The results for the period were affected by: changes in the consolidation scope; the application of new accounting criteria; and the impact of exchange rate movements, particularly the depreciation of the currencies of Chile, Brazil and Argentina. Stripping out the exchange rate effect, Abertis would have recorded an 11% increase in revenues and an increase of almost 14% in EBITDA.
The Group's ADT (Average Daily Traffic) for its toll roads as a whole grew by 2.3% in 2014, with noteworthy increases in Chile (+4.8%), Brazil (+3.1%) and France (+2.4%), which outperformed forecasts.
The changing trend in Spain was confirmed, with positive figures throughout the year, with traffic up by 2% and reporting the first positive year since 2007. In the fourth quarter of 2014, traffic in Spain achieved growth of 3.4%.
In the first weeks of 2015, the outlook for traffic in Spain confirms the positive tendency of last year, with growth of over 4%, levels last seen in 2006.
The group's profitability improved notably, with the EBITDA margin rising to 64% in 2014, compared to 62% the previous year. This was due to the increasing impact of Abertis' efficiency plans, which contributed total savings of €741Mn during the period 2011-2014.
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