Ferrovial : increased net profit by 32% to 157 million euro in the first quarter of 2016

Ferrovial, the world-leading infrastructure operator and manager of services for cities, obtained net profit of 157 million euro in the first quarter of 2016, an increase of 32% year-on-year. EBITDA amounted to 194 million euro on 2,083 million euro in revenues due to good performance by the main assets, as traffic increased strongly in all regions, and to notable new contracts in international Construction, offset by the sterling and zloty exchange rates. International activities accounted for 71% of total revenues.

Ferrovial collected 109 million euro in dividends from the assets in which it holds a stake, and recognised 131 million euro in capital gains on divesting Chicago Skyway and the Irish toll roads.
In terms of operating performance, traffic increased at Ferrovial's main assets-both toll roads and airports-in the US and Europe: 407 ETR (+0.8%), SH-130 (17.6%), Algarve (+28.5%), Ausol I (+15.2%), M4 (+8.4%), Heathrow (+2.6%) and Glasgow airport (+12%).

The order book totalled 30,166 million euro, of which Services account for 21,291 million euro and Construction for 8,875 million euro; 75% of the backlog is located outside Spain (71% in the case of Services and 81% in the case of Construction). Notable new contracts in the first quarter include a section of high-speed railway line in California; the Olsztyn bypass and a number of sections of the S17 and S3 highways, in Poland; and maintenance of 370 km of roads in the United Kingdom.

Innovative project finance

Ferrovial ended 1Q16 with a net cash position (excluding infrastructure project debt) of 1,512 million euro. Consolidated net debt amounted to 4,647 million euro. The parent company does not have significant debt maturities until 2018.

During the period, the I-285/SR 400 construction project in Atlanta, worth 458 million dollars, was financed through a bank loan that is tax-exempt for the lender. This is the first PPP project in the US to be financed in this way.

Ausol's debt was refinanced by issuing 30-year bonds and notes, rated BBB, that pay a 3.75% coupon, as well as 51 million euro in subordinated bank debt.

Strong performance by the main assets, and traffic growth

EBITDA increased significantly at the company's main assets: by 8.7% at 407 ETR in Canada and by 7.6% at Heathrow Airport (in local currency terms in both cases). Traffic also increased, in line with the last few quarters: by 0.8% on 407 ETR, which boosted revenues by 5.2% in local currency terms. Heathrow registered 2.6% growth in traffic, to 16.8 million passengers, which yielded a 3% increase in revenues to 642 million pounds.

These results enabled HAH to distribute a dividend of 75 million pounds in the quarter. The 407 ETR distributed 187.5 million Canadian dollars to shareholders in the period.

The NTE in Texas, which uses an advanced system of managed lanes on which tolling is dynamic, continued to ramp up on schedule during its first year in operation. Revenues totalled 16 million dollars, up 71.5% compared with the previous year. The road registered 5.7 million trips, an increase of 42% with respect to the first quarter of 2015. The LBJ, the second managed lanes project in Texas, which was inaugurated in the second half of 2015, provided 11 million dollars in EBITDA on 15 million dollars in revenues. The road logged 8 million trips.

Business units

Services maintained revenues in line with the same period of 2015, amounting to 1,157 million euro, though they were affected by the decline in the sterling exchange rate. Adjusting for the exchange rate effect, revenues would have increased by 3.5%. Spain performed well, with 2.5% growth in revenues due to the higher contribution from the waste treatment and industrial maintenance businesses. Revenues from international businesses in such countries as Poland, Portugal and Chile expanded by 15.7%, and the backlog doubled to 741 million euro.

Toll Roads experienced growth in traffic on most of the company's assets. The US, Spain and other European countries registered an improvement across the board. Revenues amounted to 118 million euro in a period that marked the first full year of operation of the NTE and the inauguration of the LBJ. Ausol I increased traffic by 15.2%. The company was recently selected as preferred bidder for the Bratislava bypass.

In Construction, profitability was maintained by a selective approach to bidding. Revenues totalled 806 million euro, affected by the completion of large projects, although order intake remains robust, and Budimex registered strong growth (revenues +7%, EBITDA +4.4%). International activities continued to gain in importance, accounting for 79% of revenues and 81% of the backlog.

As for Airports, HAH experienced 3% growth in revenues and a 7.6% increase in EBITDA, both in local currency terms. The regional airports (Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton) registered 4% growth in EBITDA, in local currency terms. The number of passengers using those airports increased by 2.4%. In the first quarter of 2016, Heathrow was named 'Best Airport in Western Europe' at the Skytrax World Airports Awards for the second year running, and it received the ACI EUROPE Best Airport Award in the category of airports with over 40 million passengers.