FCC has reported its business results for the first half of 2019. Group revenues this period rose by 5.5% compared to the first half of the previous year and amounted to 2,993.8 million euros. There has been an increase in all business areas, due to new projects and higher demand in Spain; particularly dynamic were the Cement (13% increase) and Water (7.7%) areas, with improvements as well in the Environment (5.2%) and Construction (4%) areas.
The total project portfolio at the end of the first semester of 2019 was 30,690.8 million euros, an increase of 5.9% compared to the same period last year.
The net attributable profit during the first half of this year stood at 128.9 million euros, a 15% decrease compared to the 151.7 million obtained in the same period of 2018. This has been mainly due to the 27.8 million euros that went to minority shareholders, mainly in the Water Area.
The Group increased its net consolidated financial debt by the end of the first half of this year to 2,972.2 million euros, a 280.8 million euros increase compared to December 2018; however, year-on-year debt experienced a decrease of 866.4 million euros.
The FCC’s Shareholders General Meeting approved the issue of a scrip dividend for the first time, at 0.40 €/share. More than 99% of shareholders chose to receive new shares.
In the Water area, last June FCC Aqualia (owned 51% by FCC and 49% by Australian fund IFM investors) entered the French water management market with the acquisition of the company Services Publics et Industries Environnement (SPIE). In addition, in Spain it bought Agua y Gestión and a stake in Codeur. Both acquisitions amounted to a total of 38 million euros.
Aqualia also secured a contract for the operation and maintenance of the sanitation system in the city of Abu Dhabi, as well as in the islands of Al Reem, Al Maryah and Al Saadiyat, worth 40 million euros. Moreover, the Emirate's authorities renewed the contract to provide sanitation services in the city of Al Ain, in the Eastern Region of Abu Dhabi, for over 60 million euros.
With these, the total amount of contracts managed by Aqualia in the Arabian peninsula (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Oman) exceeds 600 million. Most of them are medium and long term concession contracts, showing the growing acceptance and success of public-private partnership models to promote the development and operation of essential infrastructure in the region.
