OHL increased its net profit 33.2% in the first nine months of 2012
November 13, 2012
OHL obtained a net attributable profit of 184.8 million euros in the first nine months of 2012, a figure that represents a 33.2% increase with respect to the same period in 2011.
This significant growth reflects the positive performance of OHL’s business activity up to the end of the third quarter of 2012. In comparison to the same period in the previous year, sales have increased 9.3%, attaining a turnover figure of 3,823.8 million euros, while EBITDA and EBIT grew 19.9% and 16.0%, respectively.
The international operations of OHL -with a presence in more than 30 countries on all five continents- have maintained their highly significant role in the Group, as they account for 74.2% of sales and 90.1% of EBITDA. Brazil, with 23.8% of the sales, Mexico (14.7%) and the U.S. and Canada (13.1%) are the primary foreign markets in terms of turnover.
The OHL Concesiones division, which contributes 37.1% of sales and 81.3% of EBITDA, is the main driving force behind the growth of the results of the Group, obtaining figures of 13.3% and 26.1% in sales and EBITDA, respectively.
At the same time, OHL Construcción, which accounts for 51.7% of sales and 17.3% of EBITDA, obtained a 0.3% increase in sales at the end of the third quarter of 2012, with a decline of 6.3% in EBITDA. The significant awards achieved by this division in 2011 guarantee the future growth of its activity, and the impact of these new projects will become more visible on the income statement in the next few quarters.
At the end of the third quarter, the Group’s construction backlog totaled 8,412.3 million euros, growing 35.8% over the figure in September 2011 and equivalent to 35.9 months of sales, a performance that reflects the future outlook for this business activity. The major international contracts obtained in 2011 constitute a strong component of this figure: the Ural-Polar railway line in Russia, the CHUM hospital in Montreal (Canada), the Marmaray railway tunnels in Turkey and the Mecca-Medina High-Speed Rail in Saudi Arabia. Other relevant contracts have been added to the foregoing in 2012, such as the Olympic Flame tourist-sports complex in Sochi, Russia, and the Water Mains for Shafts in New York, U.S.A., which together account for 592.9 million euros of the total 1,584.1 million in new awards during this financial year. The construction backlog in Spain represents 22% of the total.
The sale of Inima, OHL’s environment subsidiary, to the Korean group, GS, was concluded on May 31 for the amount of 231 million euros. This transaction is set in the framework of the plan for disinvestment in non-strategic assets designed to reduce OHL’s recourse debt and has delivered a net capital gain of 42.5 million euros.
In the scope of Other activities -without including OHL Medio Ambiente, accounted for as a discontinued operation since December 2011-, sales totaled 428.8 million euros, representing 56.7% growth with respect to the same period in the previous year, thanks to the significant thrust of the OHL Industrial division. The combined EBITDA of these business activities amounted to 13.6 million euros.
In terms of the Group’s financial situation, the bond issue in the amount of 300 million euros made in the month of March and the Forward Start Facility signed in April for refinancing the syndicated loan have brought about significant improvements in the recourse debt maturity timetable, in addition to demonstrating the prestige attained by OHL and the support of the international capital markets and financial institutions to the Group.
In addition, on August 4, OHL and Abertis finalized the agreement for the integration into Abertis of OHL’s concession assets in Brazil and the entry of OHL as a reference shareholder and industrial partner of Abertis, in which it will hold a 15% stake by the end of this process.