ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. (ACS) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

February 26, 2021

Bolsa de Madrid ES Industrials Construction and Engineering earnings 48 min

Earnings Call Speaker Segments

Unknown Executive

executive
#1

Good Morning. Thank you very much for attending this results presentation of ACS' 2020 results. We trust that next year, we'll be able to get back to some normalcy and meet with those of you who attend this event in person face-to-face. But before we begin, let me introduce you to the executives from ACS who are here with me. To my right, Marcelino Fernández Verdes, CEO; and to my left, Ángel García Altozano, who is Corporate Director General. As usual, at the end of the presentation, we'll have a Q&A so that we can clarify any issues that you might have. I'd like to begin by once again thanking the 180,000 ACS employees all over the world for their commitment and support to our clients, suppliers and subcontractors in these difficult times under the pandemic. In these circumstances, ACS' operations have had good performance. Our Construction and Industrial Services businesses, which have been defined as essential services in most countries during the lockdown periods, have had a reduction of their activity of only between 5% and 10%, as we will see later. On the contrary, Abertis has had a significant drop in its activities due to lockdowns, which have caused strong reductions in daily traffic from the second half of March 2020. In comparison with 2019, the fall in Abertis contribution to the group's net profit was of EUR 280 million, that is 80% of the total drop in our profit. However, I have to say that we are optimistic with respect to the future. And we expect to recover our profitability this year and in the future. And in our Service business, of which we are especially proud because of its social importance and its contribution to the welfare and well-being of hundreds of thousands of people whom Clece's employees serve on a daily basis. During the first month of the pandemic, we reinforced the services for the cleaning of critical infrastructures such as hospitals, retirement homes and public facilities. In this case, our priority was to guarantee the safety of our users and employees. For us, Clece has a very significant social component, and we will continue to support their work as an indispensable part of our sustainability strategy. After this brief introduction, let me now summarize the highlights of 2020 for the group. First of all, I'd like to underscore the excellent performance of our businesses in a very difficult context with the global pandemic, which we're still suffering and which we hope is coming to an end. In these circumstances, ACS Group has reported a net attributable profit of EUR 574 million, impacted by a drop in Abertis' profit of EUR 280 million. These results incorporate nonrecurrent impacts of EUR 28 million. Specifically, the biggest impact is the amortization of Thiess' goodwill, which we had in ACS. Without these impacts, our net adjusted profit would rise up to EUR 602 million. In spite of -- apart from these facts, I think I should underscore our cash flow generation in a very extremely difficult year, which have brought in EUR 1.24 billion. Also, the group has decided to continue to invest in new projects for the future, particularly in opportunities in the areas of renewable energy and infrastructure projects, particularly in North America. Overall, our total investments exceed EUR 1.7 billion. Our net financial debt at the end of the year was EUR 1.82 billion. That's almost the same amount that we have invested. We also have a very solid backlog of projects in the group's strategic markets, slightly smaller than the previous year due to the substantial reduction in tenders in the sector as a result of the pandemic. The evolution of our main metrics in 2020 are as follows. Our turnover was 39.4 -- EUR 34.9 billion. EUR 35.6 billion, if we adjust for the CIMIC impacts. Basically, the unfavorable arbitration on the Gorgon project, the amount which we have to subtract from our turnover, which means it's down 8.7% with respect to the previous year and 5.6% in like-for-like terms. Our backlog is at EUR 69.2 billion. That's 11% down with respect to 2019 or 3.7% in like-for-like terms. Our EBITDA adjusted for these impacts was EUR 2.524 billion. Excluding Abertis contribution, our EBITDA drops 10% in the year. Also, our ordinary EBIT was EUR 1.59 billion. Without Abertis, the drop would be of only 10%. Net attributable profit in 2020 was EUR 574 million. As I mentioned, in 2020, we've had some one-off impacts. Without these impacts, our net profit would be EUR 602 million, down because of the drop in Abertis' contribution. Without that, the profit of the remaining activities would be down 11.2%. And finally, net cash flow from operations before financial investments and shareholder remuneration was EUR 1.245 billion. ACS ended 2020 with net debt at EUR 1.82 billion. That's about 0.7x the group's EBITDA. That's a figure which is EUR 1.766 billion higher than last year's after the group has invested EUR 908 million in projects, particularly renewable energy projects as well as financial investments. Also increasing our stake in HOCHTIEF and CIMIC for an amount of EUR 443 million, and increasing our treasury stock in ACS for an amount of EUR 355 million, taking advantage of volatility in the capital markets. So overall, investment of EUR 1.7 billion. Also, the group has allocated EUR 870 million for paying out dividends to its shareholders, EUR 626 million of which 59% in ACS shares, and its minority partners, EUR 244 million, mostly in HOCHTIEF. We should also mention the impact of the exchange rate on our debt net balance with an impact of EUR 278 million increase. Now I'd like to go into a more detailed analysis of our turnover and point out that our revenue sources are highly diversified by activities and countries with a strong presence in the more developed economies. The regions where the group generates more turnover are North America with 52% of the total; Australia with 15%; Europe with 21%; and the remaining 12% include Asia, South America and Africa. In the chart, you can see the evolution of each market in like-for-like terms, that is adjusting by exchange rate and the Gorgon impact in Australia. Backlog at the end of 2020 was at EUR 69.2 billion and that has a similar breakdown to our turnover. I should point out that over 85% of our backlog comes from developed economies, with particular presence in North America with 44% of our backlog, which remains stable in like-for-like terms; Australia 25% of total, down 9% in like-for-like terms, considering the adjustment due to divestment of 50% of Thiess. Backlog in Europe is 22% of the total and is up 8%. And of that, 12% for Spain, which is up 7%. By countries, the most important in terms of turnover are the U.S. with 45% of the sales; Australia with 15%; Spain with 14%; Canada with 5%; and Germany and the U.K. with 3% and 1%, respectively. And these countries together represent almost 85% of the total. Considering the negative impact of the global pandemic, we should underscore the excellent performance of the American market. Turnover in the U.S. was close to EUR 15.5 billion, that's down 4.7% in like-for-like terms. While in Canada, there were over EUR 1.6 billion, that's up 5.4% with respect to the previous year. Our turnover in Australia was EUR 6.115 billion. And finally, in the Spanish market, our turnover reached EUR 4.943 billion, that's down 8.8%. As for the backlog, in spite of the impact of COVID-19, which has slowed down the awarding of contracts as well as delay in new tender processes, our key markets remained very solid with positive growth in like-for-like terms. Specifically, the backlog in the U.S. is at EUR 26.7 billion. That's up 1% with very relevant awards, both in building and in civil engineering and services projects. The Australian backlog is at EUR 17.724 billion. That's down 0.6% with respect to the previous year if we take into account the sale of 50% of Thiess. And finally, Spain closed the year with a backlog of EUR 7.995 billion, up 7.1%. In summary, the geographical diversification we have achieved guarantees the stability of our turnover against possible downturns in certain markets. Main awards in construction that have contributed to the stability of our backlog this difficult year include, as you can see in the slide, the construction of a new terminal in the San Diego International Airport in California, in the U.S.; the extension of the 5 -- of the mining contracts -- mining services contracts for 5 years in Lake Vermont in Queensland, Australia; development of facilities for the military capabilities initiative for Australia and Singapore for the Defense Department of the Australian government in North Queensland; the construction of a new tower and new clinical services center adjacent to the current Wexner Medical Center; as well as the construction of 2 new parking lots in Columbus, Ohio in the U.S. Also, the construction of a 13-floor building with 40,000 square meter for the Transportation Department in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the U.S.; a contract for the construction of the acoustic protection tunnel complex in Altona. That's a 2.2 kilometer tunnel on Highway A7 in Hamburg, including access and exit routes; the extension of Highway 50 between Watt Avenue and the Interstate 5 in Sacramento; maintenance service contracts for oil and gas customers in Western Australia and Victoria; and access pipe for the wastewater treatment plant in Cedar Creek in the U.S. As for the main industrial awards, I should mention the development of an offshore platform for converting wind energy into electricity in the North Sea in Germany; the Villonaco Wind Farm with 110 megawatts installed capacity in Ecuador; then a 2G contract for the integrated service of construction and maintenance of distribution networks, meter reading and service orders in Spain; and the extension of 2 electricity transmission lines in Chile. And in the social services area, I should mention the new contracts for home services with the City Council of Madrid; the contract for the cleaning services in bases, garrisons and military facilities all over the country for the Ministry of Defense in Spain; and the service contracts for home support of the Almeria City Council here in Spain. Construction sales or turnover were EUR 28.3 billion. That's down 6.4% in like-for-like terms. Construction was impacted by the slowdown of global activity due to COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. and Canada represent together close to 60% of the turnover in this area and have performed very well. Canada is up 5.9%, and the U.S. is down only 3.6%, both of them adjusted by the foreign exchange impact. In Australia, CIMIC contribution has been harder hit by the pandemic and is down 13.9%. Turnover in Spain, which is 5% of our volume, rose slightly, 0.5%. While in Germany, with 3% of our turnover, they've gone up over 20%. Our Industrial Services turnover. So EUR 5.85 billion, down 2.8% in like-for-like terms. As you know, the Industrial Services area has a diversified and dynamic business model which has been impacted this year by delays in the execution of projects due to COVID-19. The development of renewable energy projects in Europe and Latin America is offsetting lower activity volumes in the rest of the world. And finally, the turnover for social services in 2020 was EUR 1.55 billion. That's down only 1.5% with respect to the previous year in spite of the curtailment of activities that had to temporarily close due to the restrictions in the first half of last year. However, since we had to reinforce cleaning and support services to critical infrastructure such as hospitals, retirement homes and public facilities, we've been able to maintain the quality of service to the over 1.5 million people that we serve in the 3 countries in which we operate. Our presence in the national market contributes 92% of the turnover, down 1.8%, whilst the European market, mainly the U.K., is now at 8%, up 2.9% in the year. To finish this area, I'd like to once again express how proud I am of Clece for the social work that they do so excellently regardless of the circumstances or difficulties. The breakdown of our EBITDA according to activity areas is as follows. Infrastructure's EBITDA totaled EUR 1.861 billion. That's 21% down on 2019 with an adjustment because of exchange rates. Excluding Abertis, which had an impact on the drop in EBITDA totaling EUR 349 million, EBITDA would have dropped only by 11%. Industrial Services EBITDA totaled EUR 661 million, down 4.6% due to the impact of American currency devaluations compared to the euro. And without that impact, EBITDA would grow by 5.5%, thanks to the positive performance of higher added value activities such as construction and our operation of energy assets. Consequently, our sales margin improved by 70 basis points to stand at 11.3%. Services EBITDA totaled EUR 61 million, down by EUR 33 million due to the effects of the pandemic on the group's activities. By way of example, I can tell you that Clece acquired disinfection equipment and PPE for the value of EUR 25 million earmarked for the use of 75,000 employees and 150,000 direct users in Spain, Portugal and the U.K. In addition, in ACS, we have also made our contribution through direct aid for the acquisition of health equipment and PPEs for a total value of EUR 3.5 million. This is donation to the health authorities. As I said before, Abertis has certainly been substantially affected because of the lockdown measures and the mobility restriction measures that have been imposed in most countries where we operate. And that has caused a fall totaling 21% in the average daily traffic, and this has significantly affected Abertis' results. Revenue fell by EUR 1.3 billion and EBITDA by 23%. Therefore, its contribution was EUR 280 million less than the previous year. However, Abertis has continued with its international expansion strategy plan by investing in new concessions, because we are sure that this situation is circumstantial and will pass. In June, together with other partners, it closed -- it completed the purchase of the RCO, Red de Carreteras de Occidente, one of the largest highway operators in Mexico, for EUR 1.5 billion. Abertis' stake is 53%. Recently, it has acquired Elizabeth River Crossings in Hampton Roads, that's one of the busiest roads in the State of Virginia in the U.S., for EUR 1 billion. In this case, Abertis' stake is 55%. This is the kind of operation that we are promoting through ACS, and we will continue to follow-up on operations like this in the future because these operations create sustainable value for Abertis. The attributable net profit totaled EUR 574 million. That's a reduction of EUR 388 million compared to the previous year. Now out of that figure, EUR 28 million correspond to nonrecurring impacts, mainly because of the amortization of Thiess' goodwill. If we strip out those effects, ACS' ordinary net profit totaled EUR 602 million, EUR 360 million less than the previous year. And out of that figure, EUR 280 million were due to the traffic reduction in Abertis, and EUR 80 million because of the impact of COVID-19 on all other activities. Construction as an activity obtained EUR 322 million in ordinary net profit, 10% down on the previous year. Industrial Services business activity reported EUR 312 million in net profit. That's down 11%. And without the impact of the devaluation of the American currencies, which was 15% on average, the ordinary net profit figure would have increased in the case of Industrial Services by almost 5%, confirming, as we all know, the strength of this industrial activity. Lastly, Services obtained a net profit of EUR 18 million. It was affected by the expenditure linked to health and safety measures that had to be rolled out because of COVID-19. During 2020, the ACS Group's activities have generated a total of EUR 1.245 billion, thanks to the good performance of the American and European markets. The funds that were generated due to the rotation of concession assets and energy assets and the dividends received from Abertis, the diversification of our cash generation sources and efficient control of working capital are the reasons behind this positive evolution. Our CapEx and payments for operating leasing in the ACS Group in 2020 totaled EUR 865 million. The breakdown is as follows: net operating investment, that's CapEx, totaled EUR 485 million, corresponding to the acquisition of machinery and equipment for the group's different projects, mainly in mining, civil works and industrial facilities; payments for financial leasing related to the use of machinery and industrial vehicles totaled EUR 380 million; concession assets rotation policy and also the rotation of energy assets have entailed divestments of EUR 444 million in 2020; in renewable energy projects, the partial sale of PV assets in Spain to the Portuguese company, Galp, for a total of EUR 336 million; and Iridium has generated EUR 108 million with the sale of shadow toll roads in Spain. The funds that have been used by non-operating activities totaled EUR 156 million. During 2020, the ACS Group worked very hard to improve its competitive and financial position in CIMIC, the Australian company, we hold a stake in. Payments for exiting the Middle Eastern market, EUR 844 million, were offset by funds that were obtained from the sale of 50% of its mining services subsidiary, Thiess, EUR 1.265 billion. In addition, the group has decided to progressively reduce its factoring balance and replace that by other more efficient credit lines and financial liabilities. Consequently, the factoring balance was reduced by EUR 493 million throughout the whole year 2020, although mainly during Q4. You can see, on the slide, the detailed breakdown of financial investments and those investments earmarked for energy infrastructure projects. Financial investments, EUR 798 million, distributed in the increase in our stake in HOCHTIEF and CIMIC, mainly through the acquisition of treasury stock by the same companies for a total of EUR 443 million. And EUR 275 million in CIMIC, EUR 168 million in HOCHTIEF. EUR 355 million in the increase that we made of the treasury stock in ACS, which will be earmarked for the dividend payment -- descriptive in payment for next year, that you're familiar with. Project investment included EUR 561 million in renewable energy assets such as the Kincardine project in Scotland, that's a floating wind farm. Also onshore wind farms in Latin America and other solar power projects in Spain and the Americas, as well as energy projects such as the high-voltage lines in Brazil and the water treatment plant in Chile. EUR 275 million in joint ventures in the U.S. for the development of infrastructure projects and EUR 72 million for concessions in Iridium and HOCHTIEF. In total, we have an investment there of EUR 1.706 billion in a difficult year, but this shows the commitment that we have in the group to achieve profitable growth and create sustainable value. Moreover, the group is still a leading group in the infrastructure development sector. That is the vision we've held for more than 10 years. Specifically, we have a backlog of 90 concession assets. Almost 70% of them are currently being operated. These assets represent a total investment that we're managing of EUR 53 billion and the investment committed by the ACS Group in these projects totals approximately EUR 1 billion. We have already paid out about 2/3 of that amount. These figures show you the commitment that we have made to developing our concessions in our group, where we believe that there are major development opportunities because of the stimulus plans in the economy in the different -- that is being announced by different governments. The ACS Group has identified a backlog of 140 -- 150, sorry, PPP projects for value totaling EUR 225 billion to be developed over the next 4 years. These are all located in the group strategic regions as you can see in the recent evolution of our project portfolio. In the infrastructure sector, in energy and water, we also hold a highly competitive position. We currently have a project backlog of 80 renewable energy assets, transmission line projects, desalination projects, irrigation, water treatment and other energy projects. Our renewable energy assets totaled almost 3,700 megawatts. ACS' investment in these projects totals EUR 1.38 billion, with the total amount of investment under management of more than EUR 5.5 billion. So all in all, I think that given the circumstances, we have had a good year. The operating and financial performance of the group in a difficult economic environment, impacted by the pandemic, can be described as satisfactory. The 180,000 people who form part of our group have worked hard to guarantee the quality and excellent service that we offer our clients, to increase our health and safety standards, to offer our employees and our users a safe environment to work in, to support our suppliers with the operating and financial measures that can safeguard the future of the industry. And we have maintained the remuneration to our shareholders, thanks to the sound financial position that we are in. And we have continued to invest in the future of ACS, making a healthy commitment to sustainable investments and the infrastructure market. This is what we know how to do, and we will continue to do it. We are absolutely convinced that our capability to create value has to be aimed at those sectors and those activities where our track record and experience and our resources can be most efficient. The development of infrastructures in a concession-based model such as highways and the promotion of renewable energy assets such as wind farms or photovoltaic plants are good examples of this idea. And this is what we will be devoting our time and effort to. Almost 3 years ago, we decided to go back to Abertis, we had exited Abertis years before that, to increase the weight of our concessions in our value generation sources and diversifying the funds that flow into activities. In the future, we will be seeking a better balance between our construction businesses and the asset concessions that we are developing. Essentially, we're going to continue to invest heavily in toll road and highway concessions and energy infrastructure projects, mainly those that are called green energies, which are renewables. Let me also, if I could, give you a summary of what ACS, through our Industrial Services subsidiary and the whole group of companies, has been able to do over the last 3 years. More than 1,800 megawatts of onshore wind farms, 1,950 megawatts of PV facility, 610 megawatts of CSP plants, 50 megawatts of offshore wind power farms and 20 megawatts of hydro. With the development of all of these projects, we have been able to mobilize more than EUR 8.5 billion in investment. And after the continuous rotation of assets, which is an exercise that we are always busy with, we still have 375 PV megawatts functioning; 210 in thermosolar, solar and CSP; 365 in onshore wind farms, 50 megawatts in offshore; and 20 megawatts in hydro. Let me remind you that all of these projects have been developed by ACS right from the -- their conception. They haven't been acquired or in operation nor have there been the outcome of any asset exchange with third parties. In the context of our conversations with VINCI, I can tell you today that we are continuing to negotiate the purchase sale contract, which is making adequate progress and we would hope to sign it in March. The topics that we are looking at here in ACS are: one, the payment in cash totally; and two, the possibility of investing in renewable energy projects together with VINCI in the future. We think that it is very important to have the possibility of investing in the assets that our current platform is developing and that we're so familiar with, which we have a notable track record in and we can create value in. This new company would be able to invest in projects that currently ACS Industrial Services is promoting in the renewable energy world. That is a total of 25 kilowatts in different technologies and countries. And also, we'll continue to invest, as I said before, in infrastructure concessions, mainly highways where there is huge upside for growth over the next few years. Before concluding this presentation, I would like to thank, once again, the 180,000 people who have made their contribution to the ACS Group, that have made us a worldwide benchmark in our sector, not only from the standpoint of the industry or the financial position but also in the social commitment facet. We are committed to the world and we live it. Their dedication, their hard work and their commitment to the excellence of the company are a guarantee for our future. Thank you very much to all of you. And now we'd like to take the questions that you would like to ask through the channels that have been set up for you to send in your questions. Thank you.

Unknown Executive

executive
#2

Good morning. We have over 250 people following the streaming who wouldn't have fit in this room. So it's good that we have the possibility of attending remotely, and there's been quite a few questions. I'm going to try and sum up because many are similar, but the first question, of course, that everyone is asking is, what's happening with the VINCI process? And if that were to happen, what would we do with money obtained through that divestment? There are several questions about whether that might be invested in toll roads, airports or maybe to increase our stake in listed companies like HOCHTIEF or Thiess.

Unknown Executive

executive
#3

Well, I think I said this very clearly, in the current context and in our talks with VINCI, we are still negotiating the sales contract, which -- and we're making progress, and we hope to sign it in the month of March. And one of the things that we're considering in ACS includes payment fully in cash and the possibility of investing that in renewable energy projects together with VINCI in the future. And to specify some of the things you were asking about, we are not planning to invest in airports. We are planning to invest in toll roads. We're not planning to increase our stake in HOCHTIEF, and we're not planning to increase our stake in CIMIC.

Unknown Executive

executive
#4

I think we've been pretty clear on that. But there are questions more specifically about the renewables side. The presentation talked about a number of proposals, mentioned a backlog of 25,000, I think, megawatts, you said. Could you give us more guidance on time line and the process? It's true that there has been greater investment over the last quarter in renewables. And the -- is this a trend that you will maintain for the future? That's one of the questions. And more detail on the pipeline for renewables, please?

Unknown Executive

executive
#5

Well, we have José María Castillo here with us, who is the CEO of the industrial activity business line. I'm sure that he is the right person to explain to you our pipeline for renewables.

José María Castillo Lacabex

executive
#6

As you all know, over the last 2 years, we have been promoting more intensively renewables in the group because our intention is to make a long-term commitment to this activity. Twenty-five years ago, ACS was a pioneer in Spain's renewable energy plan. And I think you heard before, the volume of investment and the megawatt that we have developed. But then the renewables industry sort of came to a brief standstill because of the lack of maturity of some of the technologies. But now we have more than 25 gigawatts of renewables under operation in our portfolio. I think we have a slide for you. You can see even -- on the screen, you can see that we are basically developing 2 technologies. One is wind, onshore and offshore wind farms. And we also are developing PV plants. You can see the diversification in geographical terms, we're very active in South America. And in our natural bases, Spain and Latin America, in -- basically in PV. And you also know that we are very, very active in the offshore world. Recently, we were awarded a project in Great Britain, 4,800 megawatts. We were awarded that in the fourth round. We think it will be an excellent and very profitable project. In addition, on the Iberian Peninsula, on the main -- we main -- over the next 2 years, we will be developing for more than 2000 megawatts. We have those assets already in our backlog. And there are some wind farms in Brazil that we will be developing over the next few months. The pipeline right now for ACS' development of this project is growing very quickly. Previously, we had to do a better selection of our projects because of the very high -- extremely high profitability standard that we demanded. Now we have decided to, of course, go for profitability, but go for more technologies, more projects. In Spain, for instance, we believe that the floating offshore facility market is the market for the future, and that there will be substantial investment made in offshore wind. And in Spain, it has to be floating because there can be no traditional fixed structures for those offshore wind farms here. As you know, we have the biggest commercial floating wind farm pipeline or the assets in the world. The 3 technologies that we can use. We are a little -- we are a little -- we are not choosing one technology definitely over the other. We will choose the best technology for the projects to get the best returns for our shareholders at the time. And what we do have today is this firm intention to have at least 6 gigawatts by 2025. And I think that we will probably achieve more because of the growth in our portfolio right now.

Unknown Executive

executive
#7

There are a few more questions about renewables, just to stay on the same topic. They're asking about this last comment. What would be the investment level that we might expect for the coming years, the yearly investment level?

Unknown Executive

executive
#8

It depends on the technology. There are some technologies which, like PV, require investments of about EUR 600,000, EUR 700,000 per megawatt, but there are others that are more capital-intensive like offshore technologies. Of course, the EBITDA is quite different as well, much higher in offshore technology. But if we had to think about a run rate of 1,000 or 1,500 megawatts per year, the investment would be around EUR 1.5 billion, EUR 2 billion per year.

Unknown Executive

executive
#9

Well, we're changing topic here. There are a number of questions on other areas. Following back on about VINCI and investment there, you said that you were talking about transport infrastructures and highways. And the questions are what prospects are there for the future? Could they be brownfield? Or do they have to be greenfield? In the brownfield projects, there's a question about whether we are keen in the Italian toll roads, the ASPI, which is currently up for sale and to our partner, Atlantia? And could you give us more strategic guidance on that area?

Unknown Executive

executive
#10

Well, it's very hard right now to give you more specifics. As you all know, we were in Abertis with our partners, our Italian partners. Everybody knows that there is this sale process for -- ongoing for ASPI, I can't say any more on that at this point. We will, of course, envisage, take into account all possibilities and decide on which options are the best for us, and if we're interested. And the other thing I can say to you today, and I've already mentioned this, is that we are still talking, and I said this already to them. There are talks ongoing, and God willing, the talks will be completed and end up with signing of that sale purchase agreement. I can't say anymore than that. Things are progressing well. We have a good relationship, and we will continue to talk and, hopefully, reach the agreement by March. And then of course, there is an option of ASPI. And of course, we will do our homework, and we sit down and talk with our Abertis partners and study that. And there could be some other infrastructure project or an asset that's available on the market because that might be exciting for us, too. But we are extremely excited about the possibility of investment in renewable projects together with VINCI. So yes, toll roads and also renewable projects with VINCI.

Unknown Executive

executive
#11

And in this sense, there's a question from Alejandro Vigil about our current portfolio of renewable energy concessions, whether we are going to continue to rotate that portfolio, whether we will divest those assets or whether we're going to change our strategy and retain those assets?

Unknown Executive

executive
#12

Well, right now, as I've said, we're thinking about investing with our VINCI partners in renewable energy projects, but I can't really say more than that. And in March, we will have to see what progress we've made.

Unknown Executive

executive
#13

So we're changing to a different topic now. But the 95%, I think, of all of the questions were all about that. Some are a little more creative. There was a question about -- this is changing to a topic estimate for profits and dividend payouts. Can you give some guidance, not just for 2021, is particularly interested in 2022?

Unknown Executive

executive
#14

Well, what I can say to you now is that 2021 has been -- or the results for -- the latest results have been bad, certainly exclusively really because of Abertis. In 2020, I think should -- yes, not 2021, correction, it was, of course, results we're presenting now in 2021 for 2020. We don't think that this year will be the same. We think we have great prospects there that we'll be able to take advantage of. And all of the other activities have not really been so impacted by the pandemic. Industrial, construction, especially in the U.S. So we are optimistic, but in the midst of the pandemic, which is where we are, I wouldn't dare to actually say much more. Yes, the toll road concessions have had a hard time this year. That won't be the case in the future.

Unknown Executive

executive
#15

And then the question about the dividend policy?

Unknown Executive

executive
#16

We've always had the dividend policy that we've had, and we'll see if we actually -- things will come back to some sort of normality, back into the usual position.

Unknown Executive

executive
#17

There are some questions that are about sustainability, which is such a trend. Apart from what we've said about our social services, they're asking us whether we might make an effort to communicate better on environmental issues, quality. The analyst from La Caixa, Filipe Leite, is asking whether there's room for improvement on environmental aspects or quality levels in our activities because in comparison with other countries, apparently with other companies, apparently, we're not at the level that we should be.

Unknown Executive

executive
#18

Well, this year, 2020, we've completed the sustainability plan we had. And so this year, we'll be presenting our '21-'24 plan, which we're working on right now, and we will announce it soon. The one in the past had more qualitative targets, but this one will have more measurable targets. I think that is definitely a priority for all of our businesses. And both the group level and within each of the businesses and in the different markets, that's an obvious concern and an obvious priority, and we will announce it as soon as we have it ready before the middle of the year.

Unknown Executive

executive
#19

Yes. I think all of the other questions are quite repetitive. There are some very technical questions, too, which, of course, we will answer from our Investor Relations department. I don't think there is any other question of substance except that we're asked again if we can clarify the 25,000 megawatts or the 25 gigawatts that we're talking about. Is that our investment or co-investment with VINCI, if the project goes ahead -- is committed? I understand the answer to that question is yes. Could you clarify that?

Unknown Executive

executive
#20

Well, the possibility is there. As I said before, we might be able to invest together with VINCI. 25 gigawatts, that's an awful lot of gigawatts, and we'll continue to work on that idea in March.

Unknown Executive

executive
#21

Well, thank you very much, and we do hope that next year, we won't be just in a virtual format, and we will be able to see you here and get your questions live with us. Thank you very much to all of you for joining us in this presentation today. And we, too, are absolutely convinced that next year, we will get a chance to see you here live to give you a handshake and a hug. A long time -- it's a long time since we have seen you here. Thank you very much. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]

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