– Revenues amounted to 255.8 million euro, 12.6% more than in 1Q07 due to good operating performance of the principal toll roads.
– International revenue accounted for 71.4% of the total. In 1Q08, Cintra added the Ionian Roads in Greece to its portfolio of toll roads.
– The EBITDA margin continues to rise, reaching 66.3% compared to 64.7% in the same period last year.
– EBIT increased 57.4% to 122.5 million.
-The number of parking spaces increased by 13,443 (5.3%).
Cintra, a company specialised in managing toll roads and car parks, increased EBITDA by 15.3% to 169.5 million euro in 1Q08.
Net revenues have grown to 255.8 million euro, 12.6% more than in 1Q07 due to good operating performance of the principal toll roads. EBIT totalled 122.5 million euro, up 57.4%.
Revenues from other countries accounted for 71.4% of the total in 1Q08: Canada was the largest contributor (30.6%), followed by Spain (28.6%), and Chile (22.9%). During 1Q08, Cintra increased its international exposure when the Ionian Roads concession (Greece) became operational on 10 January. The Greek government transferred this section to the company three months ahead of schedule.
Toll roads: revenues increased by 14.2%
Cintra’s toll road area, including holding companies, increased revenues by 14.2% to 221.2 million euro in 1Q08. 407 ETR in Canada, the group’s biggest earner, increased net revenues by 12.7% to 78.3 million euro. During this period, double digit growth was also registered on Ausol (10.7%) and Radial 4 (22.2%) in Spain, the Chilean toll roads (21.4%) and the M4-M6 in Ireland (16.9%).
Depreciation by the dollar (13.7%) reduced revenue in euro by 2.9 million, which was partially offset (2.1 million euro) by appreciation by the Canadian dollar and the Chilean peso.
Toll road EBITDA increased by 17.0% to 156.6 million euro and the EBITDA margin rose 0.3 percentage points to 70.8%. EBIT grew by 63.8% to 113.7 million euro.
When considering the traffic performance, one has to take into account that the year 2008 is a leap year, which means that there is an extra day with respect to 2007. Additionally the group’s toll roads were affected by the change in the date of Easter, which increased the number of public vacations in the period. This influences the respective traffic volumes depending on the toll road concerned.
- Canada – Traffic increased by 4.6% on the 407 ETR in 1Q08. This growth is attributable to the additional 100 kilometres of new lane added to the main sections of the toll road over the last two years; however, the period was marked by adverse weather conditions and fewer work days. Traffic on the toll road decreases on holidays.
- US – Traffic fell by 8.9% on the Chicago Skyway and by 6.1% on the Indiana Toll Road in 1Q08. The traffic decrease on the Chicago Skyway was due to the completion of construction work on a competing highway and to an increase in tolls effective 1 January. Indiana Toll road traffic fell due to adverse weather conditions, and traffic on the barrier section, closest to Chicago, reflected improvement work on a competing route.
- Spain – Traffic on Autema expanded 4.9% in 1Q08, while Ausol I and Ausol II registered contractions, due to the completion of construction work at Algeciras Port in September 2007. The work had increased heavy vehicle traffic on the toll road in the early months of 2007. Radial 4 increased by 15.4%, and Ocaña-La Roda by 37%. Lastly, the movement of vehicles on the M-45 fell by 31%, affected by the opening in late June 2007 of the section of the M-50 beltway between the A-3 and A-2 highways and by the completion in May 2007 of the tunnelling work on the M-30. The M-45 is a shadow toll road whose revenues depend on contractually-established traffic levels. Current traffic is currently close to the contractual ceiling; as a result, each year the concession company is collecting the maximum revenues.
- Chile – Chilean toll roads registered strong growth in 1Q08, ranging from 5.8% on Talca-Chillán to 9.9% on Temuco-Río Bueno.
- Ireland – Traffic on the M4-M6 rose by 10.7% to 23,725 vehicles/day.
Car parks: 13,443 additional parking spaces
Cintra Aparcamientos added 13,443 parking spaces to its portfolio in the last year, a 5.3% increase.
In 1Q08, Cintra was awarded a five-year contract (with a possible two-year extension) to manage the 482-space car park at the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital in Santander.
It will also manage the Palma de Mallorca Airport car park (2,017 spaces) for four years. Cintra was also awarded the on-street parking management contracts in Vitoria (3,921 spaces) and in Torrijos, Toledo (415 spaces).
Significant events in 1Q08:
- 407 ETR announced that it has refinanced the debt maturing in 2008 through two bond issues. Since October 2007, 407 ETR has issued 1.175 billion Canadian dollars in bonds, reflecting the toll road’s ability to refinance its debt despite financial market turbulence.
- Ten banks, both Greek and international, joined forces with four MLAs to close syndication of the Ionian Roads’ senior debt, amounting to 400.9 million euro. The syndication was 1.64 times oversubscribed, indicating the financial markets’ interest in high-quality assets.
- SH-130 Concession Company, owned 65% by Cintra, completed financing for the construction and operation of segments 5 & 6 of SH 130. Total investment in the construction phase is projected to be 1,358.3 million dollars. The duration of this loan is 35 years, at an interest rate of 4.46%.
- On 10 January, 3 months ahead of schedule, the Greek Government transferred the operating section of the Ionian Roads, as a result of which the concession company start charging tolls on that section on that date.
- Among other items on the agenda, the Ordinary General Shareholders’ Meeting approved the 2007 results and a gross dividend of 9.3 euro cent per share, which was paid on 8 April. It also decided to make a 1-for-20 bonus issue.
