- Revenues increased by 19% to 1.95 billion euro, supported by the consolidation of Enterprise and strong international activity, which accounted for 66% of the total. EBITDA increased by 1.6%, to 184 million euro.
- The total backlog reached a record high of 25.59 billion euro, of which 67% corresponds to international contracts. That figure does not include contracts obtained after the end the quarter, such as those to upgrade the Pacific Highway in Australia and expand Interstate 77 in North Carolina, worth more than 875 million euro in total.
- The main assets performed very well once again: traffic continued to increase on the 407 ETR and at Heathrow Airport, and both registered double-digit growth in revenues and EBITDA, in local currency terms. Ferrovial received 76 million euro in dividends from the two companies.
- The net cash position (excluding infrastructure projects) amounted to 1.57 billion euro, and there are no major debt maturities until 2018. Ferrovial arranged a 5-year 750 million euro liquidity line, providing the company with greater financial flexibility to undertake new projects.
Ferrovial, a global infrastructure and cities company, obtained 65 million euro net profit in the first quarter of 2014, compared with 72 million euro in the same period last year, when the company booked capital gains from the sale of Stansted Airport, along with other extraordinary items. EBITDA expanded by 1.6% to 184 million euro.
Revenues increased by 19% to 1.95 million euro, boosted by the consolidation of Enterprise, which was acquired in April 2013 and, therefore, was not included in the accounts for 1Q13. However, excluding the impact of Enterprise, Ferrovial revenues in the first quarter of 2014 would still have reflected solid growth of over 4% due to the good performance of the businesses and the main assets. International revenues increased by 25% compared with the same period last year, and accounted for 66% of total sales.
The Construction and Services backlog reached a new high of 25.59 billion euro. International contracts accounted for 67% of the total (65% in Services and 70% in Construction). Notable new contracts in Services include the project to upgrade roads in Central Scotland, for which financial closure was achieved in February; end-to-end management of street lighting in eight districts of Madrid; and railway infrastructure assessment in the UK. In Construction, the company will expand the road between São Paulo and Curitiba in Brazil and complete Expressway S5 between Poznań and Wrocław in Poland.
The backlog does not include contracts worth more than 875 million euro that were obtained after the end of the quarter. These include the projects to build, operate and maintain Interstate 77 in North Carolina, upgrade the Pacific Highway in Australia, and build a power plant in Poland and a hydroelectric plant in Chile.
Greater financial flexibility
Ferrovial had a net cash position (excluding infrastructure project debt) of 1.565 million euro at the end of the first quarter, compared with 1.68 million euro at the end of 2013. Consolidated net debt amounted to 5.53 million euro. The increase with respect to December 2013 is mainly due to investments in connection with ongoing toll road construction in the US.
In early April, Ferrovial arranged a new 5-year liquidity line amounting to 750 million euro with 12 banks, with an initial cost of 90 basis points. This line will not be drawn initially, providing the company with even greater financial flexibility to invest in new projects.
Strong performance by the main assets
The company's two main assets performed very well once again: EBITDA increased notably by 11% at the 407 ETR and by 30% at Heathrow Airport (in local currency terms in both cases).
Traffic on the 407 ETR increased by 3.2%, since 1Q14 had one more working day than 1Q13 and also due to construction on alternative roads. Passenger numbers at Heathrow increased slightly, by 0.5% to 16 million, despite the fact that, unlike in 2013, the Easter holiday did not fall in the first quarter.
During the period, 407 ETR increased its quarterly dividend, to 175 million Canadian dollars, and Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH) distributed 68 million pounds among its shareholders. Ferrovial collected 76 million euro in dividends from the two companies in the quarter.
Business units
In Services, revenues rose by 48% to 1.03 billion euro, due to the integration of Enterprise in Amey's accounts and to new contracts in Spain, the UK and Chile.
In Toll Roads, traffic in Europe continued to improve. Nevertheless, revenues declined to 91 million euro, due to the Easter holiday falling in April this year and to the impact of major snowstorms in the US, which curtailed traffic on the Chicago Skyway and Indiana Toll Road. Traffic on the SH 130 increased by 6.6%.
In Construction, Budimex in Poland increased its order intake by 45%, following the first contracts under the Government's 2014-2019 road upgrade plan. Total revenues declined slightly, by 3.1%, to 795 million euro, due to the completion of projects in the UK and to adverse weather conditions in the US. International contracts continued to increase, accounting for 68% of revenues and 70% of the backlog.
In Airports, HAH registered growth of 10% in revenues and 28% in EBITDA, both in local currency terms. A total of 18.6 million passengers used the four airports in the first quarter. For the third consecutive year, Heathrow's T5 was named the World's Best Airport Terminal at the prestigious Skytrax World Airport Awards. Satisfaction levels have also reached a new high: 80% of travellers currently rate their experience at the airport as "Excellent" or "Very good".
