Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, S.A. (FCC) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

[Audio Gap] Sustained expansion across all our business lines, we've had double-digit growth, both in terms of revenues and operational results. And this follows the line that we already observed in the first quarter of this financial year. And there were no factors that impacted us at an -- inorganic level. But I think that what we should do is focus on the performance of the euro which has really consolidated in this period, there were no significant movements. In the first half of last year, we had a huge appreciation of the euro against the currencies we are most exposed to particularly the Mexican peso and the U.S. dollar. As you will see from the results, this explains why the attributable net profit grew less than in the same period of last year. Last year, the growth was 20%. And this year, it was 13%. I also want to mention 2 important facts that happened in this second quarter. First of all, in June, we signed an agreement with one of the largest Canadian pension funds for them to acquire almost 25% of our environmental business for EUR 965 million. Also on the 19th of July, we held an extraordinary general shareholders' meeting to approve IPO is going to take place in the second half of the year for 32 million shares equivalent to 7% of FCC's share capital. This is a voluntary transaction, and the price will be EUR 12.5 per share. So after these introductory remarks, I will now move to the headlights -- to the highlights of our presentation. First of all, in terms of environment, this is our most important area. In the first half, the turnover rose by 20% to over EUR 4 billion -- sorry -- so to speak. Before that, I will speak about the whole of the group at the consolidated level. I really jumped down. I should have started with the group as a whole in terms of the revenues of the different geographical areas of the group. So I was saying that this EUR 4.3 billion was the consolidated figure. And Construction and Cement were at the lead because of a huge amount of new contracts. And in Cement, of course, prices also rose in utilities, water and the environment, the growth was a little bit moderate, but it was clearly positive at the same time with figures around 10%. And then by geographies, well, in Spain, 53.5% of the -- it accounts for 53% of the total group, it increased to 15.2% in the environment. We had an increase across all the activities of the management chain. Particularly in Spain, there was an increase in processing and collection. In water, well, nondomestic volumes grew significantly, and there was also a significant increase in our activities in the field of infrastructures for integrated cycle plants. Here, the increase was even higher than that of the first quarter. In Spain, the evolution was -- of the projects underway was very good. There was some price -- some repricings. And so the evolution has been quite good. Also in Cement, in Spain, we had an expansion that was focused on stable volumes, but with a very good evolution of pricing which had an impact on revenues. And real estate, which, as you will remember, it's all concentrated in Spain. The performance was also very good in both new developments and assets. The second market we have after Spain is the United Kingdom. Revenues also increased by more than 10% -- 10.8%, EUR 537 million. Here, there was an increase in construction. We have an important concession in wealth and the environment also had a significant increase in processing plants, especially recovery. But this was a little bit mitigated because of the discharge tax. Also another country in the European Union, which is very important for us is the Czech Republic. Here, the increase was more modest, EUR 203 million, 1.5%. And here, there was a significant contribution from water because we had a repricing of our rate, but in the environment, the prices of secondary raw materials rose because we are recyclers and then we process that waste. And here, the increase was more moderate and in the same period of the previous year. In other European markets with over EUR 400 million, the group grew by 17.3%. In Construction, I should mention the contracts we have in the Netherlands and also constructions in it, bridge in Norway and also a higher activity in integrated cycle water projects in Italy and France. In the Americas, there was also a significant growth, 93.3%, EUR 627 million. Here, well, we can -- what we saw is a very significant pace in the Construction business, particularly the contract we have in Mexico, in railway infrastructures, and of course, environmental activities, which are steadily growing with new urban waste processing activities. Now in Northern Africa and Middle East, growth was more moderate, 2.1%, EUR 170 million. And here, there was -- there were 2 factors because we had more moderate growth in Construction because of some projects came to an end and other started. And in Water, the activity was a little bit higher, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Now having said this, let me now move to the different activities per se. First of all, the Environment. The turnover grew by 7.2%. As I was saying previously, we had a more hectic activity with collection and street cleaning in general, but particularly in Spain and the U.S. And then in terms of processing, we had quite homogeneous growth. But since the evolution was different in different jurisdictions, the figures were a little bit different. Now if we go deeper into the case of the different geographical markets, in Spain, for example, the increase was 6.4%, slightly over EUR 1 billion. Here, we had the -- we expanded -- we extended many of the contracts we had the previous year, both for collection and street cleaning and then processing and recycling, well, those contracts also were instrumental in this growth. In the United States, revenues did grow a little bit more moderately, 1.4%, EUR 388 million. But here, this was due to checks and balances effect because our own revenues performed very well, both in terms of volumes and price. But as I would say, we had to reduce the landfill tax that we collect on behalf of the British authorities. So this has led to a reduction of revenues, but this had no impact on our result. In fact, if we eliminate the effect of the landfill tax in the United Kingdom, we would have had 11.3% more revenues. And the whole of the environmental area, the growth would have been higher than the one reported. In Central Europe, revenues did go down a little, 2.3%, EUR 293 million. By geographies, the Czech Republic, well, did suffer the effect of the lower prices for raw materials. And in the rest of geographies, Austria, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the behavior was quite stable. Finally, in the United States, you know that the United States is our highest growth platform. The increase of revenues was over 56%, EUR 184 million. In here, we had many new contracts, not just for collection, but also processing. The contract of place -- counties already in operation. This is the largest MBT processing plant in California, which supplements the waste collection contracts we already have in different sites in Florida and Texas. So the EBITDA for the environment area grew by 6.3%, which is similar to the increase in revenues [ EUR 294 million ]. Here basically, what we had, which we should mention the lower prices of secondary raw materials that is recovered products. And of course, the effect of the stoppage of the Zisterdorf plant in the east of Austria. This is -- this was a scheduled stoppage and this had an effect of slightly more than EUR 5 million. This should be taken into consideration because if we adjusted for this effect, the operational margin would be very similar to that of the previous period. In fact, instead of 15.7%, the figure would be 15.9%, just because of this Zisterdorf effect. The second most important area of the group is the water cycle, Aqualia. Here, revenues increased by 15%, EUR 706.7 million. We -- because of the different activities that we carry out, we had a significant growth, mainly the integrated cycle. There were different new contracts. There was organic growth in Colombia, Saudi Arabia, also a higher pace of activity in technology and networks in Spain. Now going deeper into this, I would like to say that in Spain, the increase in revenues was 9.6%, EUR 441.5 million. Here, there was an increase, as I said before, of the invoiced cubic meters in the nondomestic market, the full recovery of the tourism sector, particularly on the coastal area in Spain. And -- but the market per se -- the domestic market also performed very well. Technology and networks also had a very positive evolution. In Central and Eastern Europe, the increase was 23.3% over EUR 100 million here. Well, you've got the breakdown in the document, the 2 countries where we have integrated cycle with Slovenia and the Czech Republic. In the Czech Republic, we managed to increase our rates. And this, together with the good performance of the Czech koruna, well, led to very good results. And then in Eastern Europe in Georgia, the performance was also very encouraging in terms of the rates in accordance with the 3 yearly framework we have in that country. And of course, here, the repricing of the -- or the increase in the value of the local currency in Georgia also played a role. There was also increased figures in other areas in France, in Brittany, particularly, we had a significant growth. Now in EMEA, Northern Africa and the Middle East, the increase was 10.9%, over EUR 65 million. As I said before, in Saudi Arabia, we commissioned the 2 advisory and operational contracts we have of the regional clusters. In Saudi Arabia, we have 2 of them, and there was also a positive contribution from the revenues from the plants that we -- the desalting plants we operate in Algeria. In Latin America, given that the absolute waiting is lower, well, the increase was higher over 75% and this is because new contracts in Colombia particularly in the integrated water cycle. So if I was saying that the increase in revenues was of 2 digits, well, the EBITDA was a little bit lower, EUR 166 million. But you need to take into account the effect that we had in the first quarter because in 2022, there was a reversion in our books because of the resolution of an old litigation we had, which forced us to include EUR 11.2 million in December 2022. But if we adjust for this effect, this margin of 23.2%, well, would have been a lot similar. The organic evolution in recurring terms was very similar to the one that revenues would have had at the level of the EBITDA. In terms of Construction. In Construction revenues increased very significantly, almost 50% increase. EUR 1.2 billion. Here, we are progressing very well. We have lots of projects underway and some new ones have joined our portfolio in different locations in Europe. Particularly in Spain, revenues were very similar to the rest of the area, 35.9%. And here, I would just like to mention that we have quite a few contracts in the public sector, which had a positive impact. In the rest of Europe, particularly the turnover grew by 42%, reaching almost EUR 7 million. Here, we have very significant projects. For example, transport concessions in Wales in the U.K., in the Netherlands. And this compensates to some works that came to an end. In the Americas, there is significant growth, EUR 396 million. We had very good evolution. There was an important railway contract that I mentioned before, in Yucatan, the Maya train and the commissioning of -- and the start of some railway projects such as [indiscernible] in Canada and the improvement of bridge in Pennsylvania in the United States. This, together with the projects that are already underway, such as Line 1 of the Lima underground system. In the Middle East, here, we had a slight slump 5.3%, EUR 73 million. But as I said before, this is just a compensation effect because the activity was higher in Saudi Arabia. But in Qatar, our activities in the Red Line of Doha came to an end, so the operational margin was EUR 76 million in this area. This is a very significant increase. I think that it can be explained by the improvement in international projects. The operational margin, I would say, well, the operational margin was 6%. And although it is slightly below the 7% we achieved last year, it is still in line with the budget we had for this first half. And also last year, we had a more marked effect in repricings that were applied, and I think we mentioned them already. So everything is very normal and well aligned with the operational budget. Now let's turn to Cement. Revenues in Cement, as I said before, when I spoke about Construction, well, revenues had a positive performance, EUR 320 million, 29.8% increase. Here, prices played a very important role across all the markets that we operate in Spain. In Spain, the turnover increased by almost 30%, EUR 195.5 million. The volumes -- well, like the whole of the sector, well, volumes remained stable and prices made it possible for this area to evolve nicely. Now -- and there was 21.6% increase in tunnels and prices were able to compensate for a reduction in volumes. Now the shippings that we make, in this case, well, particularly those shippings coming from Spain increased by 36%. And then we also opened up new markets, especially in the Americas, particularly sales in the British market that were done at higher prices like those generated in Tunisia and Spain. So the EBITDA increased significantly, reaching EUR 79.9 million, EUR 15.5 million was the figure in the first half of 2022. So there's been a very significant increase not only because of this 30% increase in revenues, but also, as we saw in the first quarter, we had a significant reduction in energy prices, especially electricity more than fossil fuels. And this allowed us to rebuild a significant part of our operational margin of the previous years. In fact, we closed this half at 24.8% margin. Now the fifth most important area in the group is real estate. I just want to give you a few brush strokes. Revenues reached EUR 128 million for the whole half, 72% more. In Residential -- Residential accounted for EUR 70 million. This is 5% more than in 2022. Here, there was a significant increase in the sales and deliveries of homes, but it is true that there was a lack of land sales. Last year, we sold land for EUR 33 million. But this year, we sold nothing. But even so, the development area did increase its turnover by 5%. In terms of assets, revenues were EUR 57 million. This was an increase of over 9%. As you know, revenues come basically from the activities of offices and the special rental package that we have in the [indiscernible] subsidiary, which is bank branches. The occupancy rate was very positive. It closed at 94%. And we also had an increase in the average price of rentals, which allowed us to reach that 9.5% so -- because the rent itself is really didn't increase much. EBITDA grew by 3.5% across the real estate area. The average margin was 26.6%. You see that here, we combine development of homes and assets. It is true that of that EUR 68.8 million, the majority comes from asset management, but we had a lower EBITDA sales margin because we practically sold no land over the period, and those sales normally contribute a higher margin than development of new homes. Now in terms of the cash flow and the financial structure, I just want to review this with you. With respect to generated cash flows, the operational one was EUR 171 million. It was lower than the previous period because of the greater absorption of operational capital, particularly in the Construction section because, first of all, we assumed the advanced payments which we generated last year and then other nonstructural factors. But in this regard, we really didn't have any significant surprises. In terms of the operational cash flow, there was a payment of EUR 50 million and this was higher than in 2022 in the first half. Last year, there was a base effect of over EUR 39 million because we had to return payments from the previous period -- well, not on the previous period -- of 2020. Now with respect to the investment cash flow, we applied over EUR 300 million. This was less than the EUR 477 million of the previous period. And this is explained not because of the lower pace of organic investment, but because in the previous period, we had the acquisitions of water activities in Georgia. And then in this -- and this also includes the investment made of EUR 130 million in listed company. Investment cash flow for this year, 90% is concentrated in water, in the environment and is linked to the expansion of our fixed assets and environment and in contracted activity, which is already under production in both activities. Just to mention something else there were no investment or any -- there was no significant inorganic activity. Investments or divestitures. The financing cash flow, well, the difference was EUR 2.8 million, but we didn't have much refinancing activities in the group because all the financial structures have stayed very stable. Here included payments of interest. You see the figure here. There were no significant variations. This basically has to do with the debt in the group, in the areas of water and the environment. So cash position evolved as expected. And the final balance is over EUR 1 billion. So the evolution of our debt was -- didn't really move a lot. Our net borrowing did grow by 10% in June. We have over EUR 3.5 billion. This would include the question of the working capital that had to be expanded and the investments I already mentioned. For the rest in the management report, you will be able to see the breakdown and how the debt with and without recourse is distributed. The net debt is basically concentrated in our operational activities without recourse to the headquarters to the parent company and the final figure was EUR 600 million. I don't want to run on. I know that today is a very hectic day in terms of companies presenting their earnings. But just to summarize, the first half, considering the last 3 months of the period, really reinforced our growth path, all of it because of organic growth without any operational effects or any one-offs apart from what I mentioned about some base effects in environment and water, the improvement in operational profitability was quite significant, so we are still growing, of course, selectively, but continuously across different geographies. And this is all I wanted to share with you. Ladies and gentlemen, I just want to thank you again for your attention. And we might perhaps have a Q&A session. First of all, questions from the floor and then questions asked remotely. Thank you.

It seems that there are no questions here in the floor. Or yes, apparently, there is one question.

What is the reason for the significant deterioration of the working capital in the first half of 2023? And what is your expectation until the end of the year?

Well, the reasons that we have mentioned, well, point to a combination of different factors. In the Construction business line, last year, as I said during my presentation, we had a significant amount of advanced payments that have been used up. This is the differential effect when you go from one period to another. And in Construction, this was something that explained higher increase. Of course, there are construction projects that are moving at a good pace, and we are convinced that there will be -- that all the payments forecast will be met. So at the end of the year, I don't think that we will reach 0 working capital because the growth in revenues is very significant. There are activities that work with positive working capital, such as the environment. But not just Construction, but other areas such as Environment, because of its size and the volume of transactions in those areas, we expect an improvement. It's difficult to provide specific figures, but I would say that the first half, we saw this expansion of the working capital. But I'm sure that in the next few months, we will see a reduction of this figure. It seems that there's no other questions, but you know that we are at your disposal. You can contact us through all the different channels available to you. We have submitted all the documents. But if you still have questions about those documents, do not hesitate to get in touch with us. And if you haven't gone on holiday yet, do enjoy your summer holiday. [Statements in English on this transcript were spoken by an interpreter present on the live call.]