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The ACS Group achieves net profit of €297 million in the first quarter of 2010

Turnover totalled €4,002 million, up 1.5% on the same period last year.

29-04-2010
- International revenue increased by 26.7% and now represents 26.2% of the total.
- Net recurring profit totalled €288 million, 27.6% more than the previous year.
- The order book for works and projects stands at €29,840 million, 4.5% more than on March 2009.

Consolidated Results
ACS Group revenue in the first quarter of 2010 totalled €4,002, 1.5% more than in the previous year. International sales reached 26.2% of the total, representing an increase of 26.7%.
EBITDA grew by 2.4% to €381 million, with a 9.5% margin over sales.
Net profit totalled €297 million, 77.3% less than in the first three months of the 2009 tax year, as that period included the extraordinary income brought about by the sale of 35.3% of Unión Fenosa.
The quoted associate companies Abertis, Hochtief and Iberdrola, contributed €97 million in net profit.
Ordinary net profit from continuing activities, i.e. without the contribution from discontinued operations, corresponding to Dragados SPL, totalled €288 million, 27.6% more than in the previous year.
The total order book for works at the end of the first quarter of 2010 totalled €29,840 million, 4.5% higher than twelve months before, thanks to growth of 26.0% in the international order book.
Earnings by Business Areas
Construction
The Construction area obtained sales of €1,521 million, 4.2% less than in 2009. Nevertheless, international sales increased by 79.3%, now representing 23.1% of total turnover.
Gross operating profit (EBITDA) for the area totalled €113 million, maintaining the margin at 7.5% over sales and net profit was €66 million, placing the margin at 4.3% over sales.
The order book at the end of the first quarter of 2010 stood at €11,445 million, equivalent to 23 months of production, increasing by 3.4% with respect to the previous year. The trend for the international order book stands out, where this already represents 41% of the total order book.
Of the projects won in the international area, in Europe the awards in the last 12 months of several stretches of the Portuguese high-speed railway line and two stretches of motorway in Poland stand out, along with a motorway project in Chile and several Civil Works projects in the United States.
Significant projects have also been contracted in Spain during the first quarter, prominent among which are the stretch of the Spanish high-speed railway line (AVE) to the east coast between San Isidro and Orihuela in Alicante, La Sagrera station in Barcelona, the Malaga II penitentiary centre and the filling of the Port of Gijón in Asturias.
Environment
The Environment area achieved sales of €674 million, representing a growth of 6.5%. This good performance is due both to the Environmental Services area, which grew by 3.6%, and to improvement in the Facility Management area, where sales increased by 11.2%.
The gross operating profit (EBITDA) of the Environment area totalled €87 million, with the margin over sales at 12.8%. Net profit rose 6.5% to €36 million.
The current order book in this area is €11,526 million, equivalent to 52 months of activity, 4.9% higher than recorded twelve months before.
Outstanding among the most significant awards are the contract for water supply in the municipality of Totana in Valencia and the extension of the waste collection and treatment contract in the County of Hereford and Worcester (United Kingdom).
Industrial Services
Sales in the Industrial Services division rose by 4.3% to €1,798 million, with strong international activities representing 33% of its turnover.
Gross operating profit (EBITDA) grew by 16.6% to €190 million. Net profit rose to €87 million, 8.8% higher than in the same period in the last financial year.
This area finished the period with an order book of work valued at €6,869 million, equivalent to one year of production, representing 6.0% more than the previous year, where the 41% came from international contracts.
Among the most significant awards obtained during the first quarter, the remodelling of the Manzanillo thermal power station in Mexico with a value of over €720 million stands out.
Borrowings and net investments
The cash generated by operating activities in the year grew by 78.5% to €96 million, supported by good operating income and efficient management of working capital.
The ACS Group continues to make the forecast investments, which totalled €436 million in the first quarter of 2010.
Taking into account the ACS Group’s cash generation and investments, the ACS Group’s net borrowings at 31 March 2010 totalled €10,033 million, that is 8.2% more than on December 2009, especially due to the financing of concessions projects. Recourse debt totalled €690 million, while non-recourse debt was €9,343 million.
Of the total of non-recourse debt, €4,009 million are from the financing of concession projects. The rest, €5,335 million, correspond to the debt financial vehicles used for the acquisition of 30% of the shares in Hochtief and 12% of the Iberdrola’s shares. The market value at the end of the first quarter of 2010 of our stakeholdings in the listed companies totalled €7,855 million, that is €2,520 million more than the debt for the vehicles used to purchase the shares.
The increase in project financing corresponds to the significant plan for investment in concession assets, both for infrastructure and energy. Specifically, investments in the Concessions area during the first quarter of 2010 totalled €102 million. Outstanding among these investments are: over €42 million invested in the I-595 in the United States and €23 million in the Diagonal Artery in Barcelona, while Industrial Services invested €297 million mainly in renewable energy projects, where the investments in thermal solar power plants in Spain and in wind farms in Mexico stand out.
Finally, in the area of Construction and in Environment, investments in maintenance for €14 million and €18 million respectively were made.