Ferrovial raises net profit to 279 million euro in the first nine months of 2016

Ferrovial, the world-leading infrastructure operator and service provider, obtained 279 million euro in net profit in the first nine months of 2016, compared with 483 million euro in the same period of 2015. The difference is due basically to the fact that extraordinary items were lower in 2016. EBITDA amounted to 650 million euro, while revenues increased by 6.4% to 7.697 billion euro. These results were shaped by traffic growth in line with the trend achieved since the beginning of the year, international Construction business, and consolidation of Broadspectrum since June. Net profit was not affected significantly by sterling's devaluation after the referendum in the UK. The company has coverage for all the dividends in sterling pounds. The company collected 315 million euro in dividends from the main assets in which it holds a stake. Highway 407 ETR contributed 179 million euro, HAH, 68 million euro, and AGS (UK regional airports), 23 million euro. The company obtained 129 million euro in capital gains on divesting Chicago Skyway and the Irish toll roads. In terms of operating performance, traffic increased at Ferrovial's toll roads and airports in the US, Canada and Europe, including notably: 407 ETR (+4.5%), NTE (+24.9%), Ausol I (+12.1%), Heathrow (+0.7%) and Glasgow Airport (+7.4%). The backlog reached 34.682 billion euro, of which 25.195 billion relate to Services and 9.487 to Construction. International projects account for 78.6% of the backlog (77% in Services and 82% in Construction). In July, Ferrovial Airports was chosen to begin negotiations for the Great Hall project at Denver International Airport. Notable new contracts include a section of high-speed railway line in California; the Olsztyn bypass and a number of contracts for the S17 and S3 highways, in Poland; maintenance of 370 kilometres of roads in the United Kingdom; highway D4-R7 in Slovakia; a section of US 175 in Dallas; and Broadspectrum's contribution in Australia. In June, an agreement was reached to sell 51% of the Norte Litoral toll road and 49% of the Algarve toll road to DIF. Ferrovial will retain 49% and 48%, respectively. The company also entered the power transmission market by acquiring Transchile, which owns an electricity line in southern Chile, for 64 million euro. These two transactions are not reflected in third-quarter results. Lower funding costs Ferrovial ended the third quarter with a net cash position (excluding infrastructure project debt) of 300 million euro, compared with 1,514 million euro at 2015 year-end, affected mainly by the acquisition of Broadspectrum. Consolidated net debt amounted to 5.693 billion euro. The company does not have significant debt maturities until 2018. In September, Ferrovial issued a 500 million euro 6-year senior bond paying a coupon of 0.375%. A number of projects were financed in the first nine months of 2016, including the I-285/SR 400 in Atlanta: 458 million dollars through a bank loan that is tax-exempt for the lender.  Ausol's 558 million euro debt was refinanced by issuing 30-year bonds and notes for 507 million euro, rated BBB, that pay a 3.75% coupon, as well as 51 million euro in subordinated bank debt. Finance for the D4-R7 highway in Slovakia, which represents an investment of 975 million euro, was completed in June. In the summer, Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s affirmed the company's BBB rating, with stable outlook. The main assets continued to performed well: The NTE and LBJ highways in Texas continue to advance. The NTE obtained 54 million dollars in revenues in the first nine months of 2016, i.e. 47.5% more than in the same period of 2015, while EBITDA rose 53.6% to 41 million. The road registered 6.2 million trips, an increase of 12.5% with respect to the period between July and September 2015. Revenues on the LBJ amounted to 55 million dollars, while EBITDA totalled 42 million, and the road registered 10.1 million trips. The LBJ was inaugurated in September 2015. Highway 407 ETR maintained strong performance, with traffic up 7.1% in the quarter, boosting annual revenues by 11.8% and EBITDA by 14.9% in local currency terms. Heathrow registered 0.7% growth in traffic, to 57.3 million passengers, which resulted in a 1.2% increase in revenues to 2.094 billion pounds, raising EBITDA by 4.5%. Business units Services revenues increased to 4.314 billion euro due to integrating Broadspectrum, although they were affected by depreciation of the pound sterling. Spain performed well, with 4.4% growth in revenues due to the higher contribution from the waste treatment and industrial maintenance businesses. The international business in such countries as Poland, Portugal and Chile, among others, expanded by 19.5% in like-for-like terms. Earnings in the United Kingdom were affected by pressure on volumes and margins in public sector contracts as a result of the administration's budgetary constraints. Toll Roads experienced traffic growth on most assets. The US, Spain and other European countries registered an improvement across the board. Revenues increased to 361 million euro compared with the same period of 2015. At the beginning of the year, Cintra signed the contract for the D4-R7 highway in Slovakia (Bratislava bypass). 407 ETR has announced a 10.7% increase in the dividend for the fourth quarter. In Construction, revenues totalled 3.033 billion euro, affected by the completion of large projects, although order intake remained strong, and Budimex registered robust growth (revenues +9.8%, EBITDA +55.2%, in like-for-like terms). International activities continued to gain in importance, accounting for 84% of revenues and 82% of the backlog. As for Airports, HAH maintained revenue and EBITDA growth, while retail revenues increased by 8.5%. Heathrow was named "Best Airport" by Skytrax and Airport Council International in a number of categories, ratifying the increase in the percentage of passengers who rate the airport as very good or excellent (81%). In regional airports, Glasgow experienced an increase in traffic, revenues (+7.4%) and EBITDA (+22.4%) in local currency, supported by 7.4% growth in passenger numbers. Passengers numbers at the three airports increased by 2% to 11 million.