The OHL Group is to increases by 9,9% its net income in the year 2009
February 26, 2010
The OHL Group, in spite of the difficult economic climate, has closed 2009 with outstanding results, in terms of both sales and profit.
The net income of € 165.6 million, has grown by 9.9 % in relation to 2008. This increase would be 66.1 % if the results obtained from the transfer of financial instruments were omitted.
The annual turnover has increased 9.5 %, reaching € 4,389.5 million, while the EBITDA and the EBIT have registered even greater growths, 22.9 % and 26.5 % respectively. Meanwhile, the order book is situated at € 66,726 million, with an increase of 13.0%.
Once again, it must be highlighted how successful the internationalisation and diversification strategies have been, set out by the Group in 2002, without which these results would not have been possible; above all during a time in which the activities of National Construction have slowed down due to the decline in the public tenders of large infrastructures.
The areas that boosted the OHL Group in 2009 were Concessions and International Construction, which have obtained excellent results, with growths in sales of 36.9 % and 28.0 % respectively, and of 34.1 % and 55. % in EBITDA.
As a result, OHL took a new step in 2009 towards consolidating its profile as a diversified, international group. At the close of the year, international activity had gained significance in relation to national activity, as is reflected by their participation percentages in the Group’s main parameters: sales, 59.1 %; EBITDA, 87.8 %; order book, 86.4 %, long-term investments, 70.5 %; and employment, 71.5 % of its 21,871 employees.
From the point of view of diversification, the data reflect that OHL is becoming more of an infrastructure concessionaire and less of a constructor all the time. OHL Concessions is the main reason that the activities other than construction contributed in 2009 62.7 % and 61.4 % of the Group’s EBITDA and EBIT respectively.
Also in line with th strategy designed in 2002, this internationalisation and diversificatin effort has been carried out following prudent financial criteria, which has enabled the net debt with recourse to be maintained, € 730.1 million on 31 December, 2009, in a figure very similar to that of the close of 2008, supposing only 2.5 time the Group’s EBITDA with recourse.
It must be highlighted that in December 2009, OHL successfully closed a capital increase of € 199.5 million. Subscribed 100%, it enabled the Group to improve its financial structure and provide itself with the resources necessary to continue its business plan, above all in Concessions and International Construction. The unprecedented demand, 8.66 times the offer, is a clear indication of the shareholders’ high level of commitment to the Group.
The Group’s Divisions
<p¡>OHL Concessiones has maintained its favourable trajectory and closed 2009 with a 36.9 % increase in sales and 34.1 % in EBITDA. The global increase in traffic in motorway concessions and the up-dating of tariffs have contributed to those results, as well as the gradual beginning of operation of Brazil’s five state motorways; the Northern Motorway, in Peru; and one section of the Elevated Bicentenary Viaduct in Mexico.
OHL Concessiones manages a portfolio of 25 main concessions which include 21 toll motorways, with a 4,400 km long network; an airport; a commercial port; and two railway operations. It is the seventh largest transport infrastructure operator in the world, according to the Public Works Financing (PWF) ranking.
The excellent results of International Construction, with increases of 28 % in sales and 55.9 % in EBITDA, are explainable by the significant completion rhythm of the bigger projects in their order book (most importantly the Oran Convention Centre in Algeria and the Sidra Hospital in Doha, Qatar), by the success of the international subsidiaries and by the construction of significant projects for the Group’s concessions in Mexico, as such the second and third phase of the Mexican Outer Loop and the Elevated Bicentennary Viaduct.
The National Construction division, inspite of the decline of 10.2 % in sales, has maintained relatively stable margins, with an EBITDA/sales ratio of 6.5 % compared to 6.8 % in 2008. This has been achieved thanks to the strategy of focusing the activity on big civil works and non-residential building projects to reduce to a minimum the construction of housing and to apply a flexible costs policy.
Although OHL Industrial continues to contribute to the Group in small figures, € 28.1 million in sales, the growth potential for this division in the near future is significant, both nationally and internationally.
Lastly, OHL Development has finished with large drops, both in sales, 47.8 % and EBITDA, 99.3 %. This division’s main business, the Mayakoba touristic development in Mexico, suffered the double impact in 2009 of cancellations due to the swine flu, as Mexico had an especially high number of cases, and the economic crisis.
Nevertheless, both situations having been beaten, there are high expectations for this touristic development, of first class rating internationally. This February their golf course, El Camaleon, has held the 5th Mayakoba Golf Classic Tournament, the first PGA Tour tournament to be held outside the United States and Canada since 2007.
OHL Environmental Inima achieved sales of €129.4 million, raising 7.9 % on the previous year, primarily as a result of the construction of the Mostaganem and Cap D’Jinet plants in Algeria, and Mogi Mirim in Brazil. Their EBITDA, nevertheless, is lower affected by the sale of the Desalant plant in Chile, and because the margins in the construction phase of the plants are less than those obtained during their operation.