Webuild S.p.A. (WBD) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning. This is the Chorus Call conference operator. Welcome, and thank you for joining the Webuild Full Year 2020 Financial Results Conference Call. Our call today is hosted by Pietro Salini, Chief Executive Officer; together with Massimo Ferrari, CFO and General Manager. [Operator Instructions] At this time, I would like to turn the conference over to Mr. Pietro Salini. Please go ahead, sir.

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to our conference call dedicated to Webuild 2020 full year results. I'm Pietro Salini, Chief Executive of the group, and I will give a few words about our performance last year before letting Massimo Ferrari go into further details on the results. Let's start with the highlights on Slide 3. We exceeded our financial targets for the year. And we are on track to achieve our strategic targets for 2023. We completed the acquisition of 66% stake of Astaldi. To protect the safety of our workers, a top priority for us, we imposed strict measures on our construction sites at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and could continue the work. Of course, performance has been affected by the COVID-19. Our order backlog reached nearly EUR 42 billion. That is equivalent of more than 6 years of production. Our net debt was better than target, amounting to EUR 442 million. We had strong growth in total equity hitting EUR 2.1 billion after some write-downs of around EUR 200 million. With a focus on cash generation, we are confirming our outlook for 2021. When it comes to sustainable development and the innovation behind it, our numbers show how committed we are to it. Nearly 90% of our construction order backlog now comes from projects dedicated to reaching sustainable development goals. We have also set targets that are tied to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, safety, gender diversity and innovation. And management remuneration is linked on some of those targets. The graphic on Slide 4 that chronicles some of the most important events of the year will give you a good idea of how much we accomplished despite the pandemic. To highlight just a few of these achievements, in January, we issued a bond. In May, we changed our name to Webuild. Later in the summer, we took over work on the long-awaited railway juncture in Genoa that will improve the connection that port has with Northern Italy and the rest of Europe. Also in Genoa, we delivered in record time the bridge to replace the Morandi bridge that collapsed 2 years earlier. We also started on the first section of the high speed rail line between Verona and Padua. There is no coincidence that all of these projects highlight our increased focus on sustainable mobility. In September, we received all the regulatory authorization related to the high-speed railway between Houston and Dallas. The civil works assigned to Webuild Group related to this project are worth around $14 billion, which are not included in our order backlog. Near the end of the year, we acquired 66% of Astaldi after an overcoming number of legal and financial hurdles as part of Progetto Italia. Our initiative to consolidate the construction sector in Italy. As you will see on Slide 5, we achieved many things during the year without neglecting the safety of our people. I cannot emphasize enough how important safety in the workplace is for us. It is our highest priority because people are our most important assets. At the start of the pandemic, we made an effort to introduce the strictest measure to enable our people to focus on the work at hand. We also provided them with extra insurance. Despite some exception, we were able to keep most of our construction sites open. On the financial side, we made sure we had sufficient cash on hand, refinanced some of our debt and imposed a cost discipline program. Needless to say, we are on a sound financial footing. Slide 6 shows the target we have set for the year and how we surpassed them, as Massimo will explain in detail later. Our construction backlog totaled EUR 33.3 billion. And I want to bring your attention on the fact that nearly 90% of that backlog is related to projects that help clients to reach sustainable development goals. Our revenues reached EUR 6.4 billion, within the range set for a year. Our EBITDA margin was also within the range of 12.8%. The figures include Astaldi for the full year. The group net debt was EUR 442 million, beating the target set for the year. This achievement is also made possible by our ability to extract cash from working capital. As for the net equity, it totaled EUR 2.1 billion, an improvement of more than EUR 580 million from the previous year. Despite the total write-off, we decided to take on our assets in Venezuela and the impairment on equity investments related to Panama Canal. Directly and indirectly, the group employs nearly 70,000 people throughout the world, 20,000 more than 2019. Turning to Slide 7, the project that we are now working on will improve the lives of 87 million people, whether it is in terms of mobility, renewable energy, clean water or health care. These projects are also expected to help avoid the emission of about 19 million tonnes of CO2 every year. Although we are a multinational, we like to see ourselves as being a local company wherever we are present. In fact, more than 80% of the people who work for us come from the area where the project is located. And more than 90% of the resources used on a project come from local suppliers. There is also the multiplier effect. For every direct job on a project, there are 8 more created and indirectly. And for every euro of added value produced by our group, there is a boost of EUR 3.5 to the gross domestic product. On the bottom of the slide, we can have a look to our positive contribution to sustainable development goals set by United Nations with the project we are currently working at. Thanks to the ongoing project, we would give the local community green energy, treated waters, as well as we are going to give approximately 7,000 additional hospital beds. Slide 8 shows us having improved last year our ESG performance in line with our robust track record. We are continuously reducing our carbon emission and our injury rate while continuing investing in innovation and supporting gender diversity. Our work has been positively recognized also by the ESG rating agency. We have an A rating from Morgan Stanley Capital International ESG Research as a recognition of our strengthened corporate governance and the attention placed on the independence and diversity of our Board of Directors. We define an ESG plan for the period 2020-2023 based on 3 main pillars: green, safety and inclusion and innovation. On green, we want to contribute accelerating climate transition by further reducing our carbon footprint by 35% next year from levels registered in 2017. We also want to help clients develop sustainable projects. On safety, we want to stay a best-in-class performer by decreasing our injury rate by 40% next year from level registered in 2017. This will be done through dedicated programs, including the adoption of digital technologies capable of alerting people on potential risks in real time. On gender inclusion, we have already achieved an important result as our most recent gender pay gap analysis conducted at the corporate level found substantial equality between women and men's salaries. Our goal is to increase the female presence at our top line, and on this, we have set a target to have at least 20% of women in the succession planning for key roles by 2023. We are finally committed to reinforcing our leadership in innovation by investing at least 30 million of additional resources on high potential projects, including the digitalization of core processes, advanced construction techniques and environmental-friendly pioneering solution that will boost our competitiveness in the core market. As you are likely aware, the most important milestone that we have reached down the projected dial last year was the acquisition of about 66% of Astaldi. Just yesterday, we announced the final approval of the agreement to take complete control of the company that is still a growing concern. Through Astaldi acquisition, we are acquiring EUR 8.3 billion of project portfolio that will be executed in next years, and some 20,000 direct and indirect shops. With the merge, we will be able to take control of the growing concern [ in the ] business. The agreement will see us offering 203 Webuild shares for every 1,000 Astaldi shares. The exchange ratio has been determined by 4 different independent auditors based on fundamental analysis. The benefits and synergies of this final operation will be significant at the operational, financial and economic level. The management of project that involved both Webuild and Astaldi, like the M4 Metro line in Milano, will be -- become integrated. There will also be a single commercial strategy. There will be an optimization of center functions, and there will be centralized management for procurement, assets and working capital. At the same time, the agreement will ensure that Astaldi shareholders have access to a more liquid market for their shares, as well as benefit from the growth that is expected from the integrated activities within our group. On Slide 10, you will see the performance of our project in every region of the world. Before we go into details, I would like to bring your attention to a few key figures. The first one, 36%, it is how much our top 10 projects were responsible for total revenues in 2020 compared to 47% in 2019. It's a significant decrease of risk. And the next one is 89%. It is how much of our total revenues come from project dedicated to sustainable development. The last figure is 55%, the amount of revenues coming from low carbon projects. These figures highlight our commitment to a greener, more sustainable future. The rest of the slide shows our project incidents to low-risk country continue to increase. Of course, the performance has been impacted by COVID-19 pandemic. In several cases, activities were altered for several weeks in order to impose new measures required by governments or local authority, resulting in an overall reduction in production and margin. At the level of production, we have been able to deliver 75% of our expectation before COVID-19 broke out. Let me start with Italy. After work on various construction sites slowed down during the first 6 months, it gradually picked up again in the second half of the year. The slowdown began in March, affecting projects like the high-speed high capacity railway between Genoa and Milano, the M4 Metro line in Milan and the construction of our new headquarters in Milano. Despite difficulties with subcontractors and restriction on the mobility of workers, work began although not at full capacity. As for the completion of the new Genoa bridge, as mentioned earlier, we were able to do it in record time. We hope that the model that we follow to build it will be applied to other projects in Italy to help give the economy a boost after being severely hit by the pandemic. In France and Switzerland, we had to suspend work temporarily on projects like the [ factories ] employed in Lucerne and the 2 metro lines from the Grand Paris Express. Similar precautionary measures were taken in Middle East where production rates albeit increased compared to what was seen in the second quarter 2020 continued to be impacted at the execution margins and actual permitted levels. In North America, our single biggest market revenue, there were no significant slowdown or suspension save for a few exceptions. As of today date, all activities with few exceptions are ongoing in respect to local protocol and strict safety measures, though not all of them are returned to the level of production and efficiency registered prior to the pandemic. Slide 11 shows how substantial our backlog is at EUR 41.7 billion. Just for your memory, in 2019, we were talking about EUR 36.2 billion. It includes construction orders but also concession; and starting from 2020, operation and maintenance projects coming from Astaldi. What is most important is how well diversified it is when it comes to the type of projects, their location and the low risk profile of this location. Of the total, EUR 33.3 billion are for construction projects, that is 13% more than the previous year. New acquisitions totaled EUR 10.4 billion when including a study portfolio of EUR 6.4 billion. There were no other cancellation before that because of the pandemic. With the acquisition of Astaldi [ Italy ] to make up a greater share of the total backlog of orders. In Italy, many projects that we have had in our portfolio for a number of years were finally unblocked and started to break ground. I will now let Massimo, our General Manager, Corporate and Finance, take you through the details of our 2020 financial results. Please, Massi.

Thank you, Pietro, and good morning to everybody. Before going through the numbers, let me explain that as is customary, we are presenting adjusted figures that include effects from work under management which are the joint ventures of our U.S. subsidiary lane. The figures are also adjusted for the impact of the Venezuela impairment, both for the 2019 and 2020. Meanwhile, the 2020 figures exclude the effect on the P&L of the settlement agreement with Condotte, concerning the transfer of ownership at COCIV, the consortium that ran the Milano Genova project. We can start at Slide 13. As Pietro told you, the acquisition of a controlling stake in Astaldi was completed in November. And in accordance with the IFRS accounting principles, we built consolidated figures for 2020 include those of Astaldi for the last 2 months of the year. But in order to give you proper comparative figures for the guidance we gave to the market, we include, in the slide, Astaldi's revenues, EBITDA and EBIT as if they were consolidated for the entire year. So let's go through the numbers. Reported revenues amounted to EUR 5.3 billion, almost in line with those for 2019. Combining the revenues totaled EUR 6.4 billion. Both reported and combined revenues include an extraordinary gain of EUR 548 million, which for the sake of brevity, we will call bargain rather than bad will. This gain comes from the acquisition of Astaldi as a result of the purchase price allocation, calculated with the support of leading independent advisers. Reported EBITDA was about EUR 779 million, combined EBITDA at EUR 821 million. EBIT was about EUR 563 million. Both EBITDA and EBIT included the bargain related to the Astaldi acquisition. Our operating results show our business like those of our peers was affected by the outbreak of COVID-19, as Pietro mentioned before. Our business consists of purely annual contracts. Revenues from those contracts are generated based on the work that is progressively done on the project. So part of the slowdown that we experienced in the last year is expected to be absorbed already in 2021. I want to remind you that we did not have any relevant contract cancellation as a result of the pandemic last year. At the operating level, both EBITDA and EBIT margin, excluding the bargain impact, were affected by business mix, where projects with higher marginality suffered from the production slowdown, a lower absorption of fixed cost, both at the corporate and project level. There was also an increase in cost for specific supplies to improve worker safety and health of people and reduce labor risk. Despite this context, we retained all of our employees. There were no layoffs, nor did we put anyone on paid furlough. On Slide 14, we have the P&L below the EBIT line. Let me remind you that these numbers include the consolidation of Astaldi only for the last 2 months of the year. Net financial costs were approximately EUR 119 million, compared to EUR 73 million in 2019. Losses on investments for EUR 113 million are mainly related to the impairment on the investment in the Grupo Unidos por el Canal, our company that built the second channel in Panama, after the latest decision from the one on many discussions the group is having with the client. The related cash out of approximately EUR 92 million occurred in February 2021. Adjusted net income stood at EUR 275 million, while, as you can see in the table on Page 29, the reported net income stood at EUR 147 million as you can see also on Page 11 of the press release -- 12, sorry. On Slide 15, you will see the positive results registered in terms of net financial position and net equity. The first half of the year was hard for both companies. By the end of June, we had a net financial position of EUR 1.1 billion. In the second half of 2020, we were able to bring it down to EUR 442 million, thanks to our management of working capital. The boost came from payments received in project in Italy, while in the second half of the year, we received some payments from the Middle East that had been delayed in the first half due to the pandemic as well as the drop in the price of the oil. Please remember that the balance sheet for 2019 is not pro forma and do not include Astaldi. So the reduction in working capital, not considering the contribution of working capital from Astaldi, is about EUR 670 million. At the end of the year, we had EUR 2.5 billion in cash at group level, of which EUR 1.2 billion at the corporate level. Looking at the gross debt, as discussed during our conference call for the group first half results, when the COVID-19 pandemic erupted, we decided to temporarily draw down the whole amount of our credit lines. The move had the purpose of maintaining an adequate level of cash at the corporate level for any eventualities. We also issued a bond in December, raising EUR 550 million, about EUR 250 million of which was used to buy back a bond expiring in June 2021. We will use the remaining cash to pay back the outstanding 2021 notes at maturity. The combined effect of these events, including the additional gross debt coming from the Astaldi consolidation increases the total amount for gross debt. But if we net this debt with the cash available at the corporate level arriving at an outstanding amount of EUR 1.2 billion, we would see no particular change at the gross level in comparison with 2019 figures. Net equity meanwhile reached the EUR 2.1 billion, thanks to the consolidation of Astaldi. This marks an improvement of more than EUR 580 million compared to December 2019. Having such strong equity allowed us to improve the quality of our assets and eliminate some risk. We wrote off our entire exposure to Venezuela to improve the quality of our asset. We also wrote down some credits, including those related to the Condotte deal mentioned before. The net debt on net equity ratio stands at 0.21x, which is half compared to 2019 one. This is quite a good performance for construction companies. I will go through Slide 16 quickly because it has information that is already known. We refinanced EUR 6 million of debt that was coming due in 2021 and some bank debt. Our major maturity is now at in mid-2022. The average cost of our debt after the issuance of the new bond in January is about 3.5% and the duration, which was significantly extended in 2020, thanks to the issue of bonds for EUR 1 billion is greater than 4 years. I will leave the floor again to Pietro for 2021 outlook, and some closing remarks.

Thank you, Massimo. On Slide 18, you will see a detailed description of the strategy we are putting in place. There is a consolidation of our presence in Italy, our own market. We are quickening the pace on projects that were part of our backlog, such as the second and third functional lots of [ Eiris ] and Padua. On this project, 2 construction roads were unblocked in 2020. This has resulted in new revenue streams among our domestic backlog. Another important project we have in Italy, the Milano-Genoa high speed train that is finally at full speed that generated a level of revenue similar to expectation before the pandemic. We are finally seeing a turning point for this sector in Italy. And as for our other peers, our domestic market has become a relevant part of our revenues, around 22% and is expected to reach 25%, 30% of revenues in 2021. I would also like to point out that our current backlog covers already 100% of our 2021 targets. Revenues and around 90% of combined '21, '23 revenues, excluding Texas. We are also using our size to address opportunities that arise from the latest government measures to relaunch the construction sector in Italy. For instance, we have already been selected as winner or best offer for around EUR 2.5 billion of new projects in the country. There is also a new line of business that we are working on to develop. It's road maintenance. The ordinary and extraordinary maintenance need of the Italian road network is worth up to EUR 7 billion every year. This sector would have stabilized our cash generation. Even though it is not included in our budget for 2021, we are holding different discussions about how we can act as general contractor. By pooling a number of works in big lots, we could then reduce the time by 30%. The third part is to continue de-risking our backlog and revenues, something we have often spoken about in the past. The group's commercial activity is focusing on markets with low-risk profiles. More than 90% of this activity is being done in markets like Italy, Europe, North America and Australia. We continue to implement our cost efficiency program, which was begun in 2020. The aim is to save about EUR 120 million by 2023. As mentioned earlier, we are focusing more on project that uphold the principle of [ EG ] and a reduction of CO2 emission, while at the same time, maintaining a high standard for quality and safety. Going to Slide 19, in 2020, we kept investing in our commercial activity. This resulted in a 22% increase in tenders we submitted for projects compared to the previous year. This is notwithstanding the fact that EUR 27 billion worth of tender were postponed because of the pandemic. In line with our derisking strategy, most of our tenants are concentrated in United States, Australia, Italy and other European countries. By the end of 2023, we aim to get more than 85% of our revenues from countries that fit this profile. In 2021, we expect a recovery in the construction sector. This will come from 2 factors: the tenders that were postponed from 2020 and the investment in infrastructure that governments in many countries are planning to kick start their respective economies. That includes Europe, Australia and North America, 3 markets where the group has been present for years and is well-placed to seize the opportunity that this planned investment will create. Since the beginning of 2021, we have been awarded approximately EUR 2.5 billion, including projects selected as best bidders. On top of this, we are awaiting the outcome of more than EUR 9.5 billion worth of tenders and have nearly EUR 10 billion worth of tender to be presented. Slide 20 shows how much of an impact investment in infrastructure could have in the country's economy. There are already EUR 94 billion worth of projects that could be unblocked, and the impact they would have would be considered, an estimated EUR 290 billion on the gross domestic product. Of this EUR 94 billion, EUR 27 billion could come from so-called next-generation EU funds. There is 1 project that even though it was outside the scope of next-generation EU fund could have a significant impact inside, in Italy. I'm talking about the Messina Bridge which would connect Sicily with the rest of Italy and Europe as well. It's construction that would create more than 100,000 jobs. Slide 21 describes an innovative solution that we bring to our projects. They often reduce the impact that this project have on the environment. They reduce the risk for workers, and they improve the way the projects are built. As illustrated on the slide, examples include the robots that clean and monitor the structure of the new Genoa bridge. There are vertical riser installed in the submarine tunnel to discharge treated waste water into the river plate near Buenos Aires. That technology is a first in the world of engineering. There is the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the ground under the Isarco river to facilitate the escalation of a tunnel for the Brenner base tunnel. And we are studying the development of a tunnel boring machine that use 20% less energy. Going to Slide 22, as we announced in November, we launched an ambitious cost saving plan for around EUR 120 million. This will entail improving efficiency with the group -- within the group as well as capturing the synergies that are to come from the acquisition of Astaldi. During 2020, we were able to deliver 10% of this brand. They came from our corporate and branch offices, as well as indirect cost of our projects. In the case of our corporate and branch offices, we are putting a strict cost discipline. The smart working imposed by the lockdown has to learn new ways of working. We are also reorganizing staff according to the spans and layers methodology. These measures are expected to lead about EUR 65 million of savings by 2023, EUR 11 million of which already in 2021. As for the indirect cost on our construction sites, we are standardizing processes and procedures to optimize cost. We are automating the back office with the creation of a hub to centralize services at administration, procurement, legal and human resources. This will consequently lead to rationalizing staff on the work site. This is expected to lead a savings of about EUR 55 million by 2023, with EUR 10 million of this already in 2020. Going to Slide 23, in light of the good results reported for 2020 despite COVID-19, we are confirming the target that we gave last November. At a constant exchange rate between the euro and U.S. dollar, and assuming the coverage situation improves, we foresee a book-to-bill more than 1 point before 2021 and 2023. The new orders average, in the last 7 years, is around EUR 6 billion, a continuous growth in terms of revenue between EUR 6.5 billion and EUR 7.2 billion in 2021. Current backlog covers already 100% on our 2021 of our planned revenues and around 90% of combined '21-'23 revenues, excluding Texas. A stable EBITDA margin of about 8%, thanks to efficiency streamlines and an improving net debt between EUR 500 million and EUR 300 million. We feel confident in saying that we are on track to deliver our 2023 targets. Allow me to take this opportunity to thank the Board of Directors. This year brings to a close a period of 9 years during which the company has changed significantly. In 2021 when we acquired the company Impregilo, with a construction backlog of EUR 12.7 billion, was quality, included projects in Venezuela, Libya, Colombia, Panama, the Messina Bridge and projects in Italy that we have not financed the blocked like the union state highways. During these 9 years, we not only increased our order portfolio, but also completely reorganized it, thanks to the acquisition of new orders with a combined total of EUR 60 billion. We improved the quality of the project, diversified our geography exposure and reduced the risk profile. The result has been a reduction in our exposure to countries considered high-risk from a geopolitical and economic perspective. It has also seen us expanding markets with enormous potential, such as Australia and North America. We have also strengthened our position in Europe. What's more, we were able to make -- start projects that remain blocked for years. When you look at our performance during those 9 years, we've had more than EUR 44 billion in revenues and accumulated EBITDA of more than EUR 4 billion. We are also strengthening our total equity with an increase of more EUR 800 million. Finally, we would like to thank all our employees for this result. Thank you for your attention. I will now leave it to question-and-answer session.

[Operator Instructions] The first question is from Matteo Bonizzoni with Kepler.

I have 3 questions. The first one is related to Italy. If you can -- you have already commented that the outlook is improving. I would like to come back on some points, which you commented. So you say that there are EUR 94 billion of projects to be unblocked, of which EUR 27 billion included in the next-generation of EU Fund. So my question is, what are your expectation about the process? And so how quick basically could be the award of this new EUR 27 billion fresh money related to the next-generation of EU fund? And can you comment a little bit more on the change of attitude, which you are seeing by the Italian government, Italian authorities? Also in Italy, I would like to know are you seeing an implementation of the Article 207 of the Relaunch Decree about the increase of the advanced payment from 10% to 30%? And finally, Messina Bridge, what are your expectation on the potential resumption of this project so you would attribute high probability or low probability to that event? The second question is on Middle East. There has been clearly a recovery of the oil price and the financial outlook in those area is clearly related to -- notably, to the commodity price. So do you expect an improvement of the order intake in relation to the recovery of the oil price? And final question is on the gross debt. This EUR 3.56 billion gross debt includes almost EUR 1.2 billion of cash at corporate level held for precautionary purpose. Should we expect this precautionary cash to shrink in 2021 and gross debt to decline?

Yes, thank you for your questions. You told only 3 questions, but in reality, this is almost a book. But let's say that we go through with the easier. I'll start with the last one. Of course, as you have seen, we gave some targets in cash position and also in debt reduction to the end of the 2023. As for the cash available, our strategy now is to keep the cash at the corporate level in order to make possible to cope and -- with the situation that was that was very unpredictable. Of course, during the year, if the COVID situation will stabilize and also the consequence on the market will stabilize, we will offset part of the debt with the cash available. First thing, of course, during the year, we have to use the cash that we obtained from the from the bond and the remaining part to be purchased at the -- repaid back at the end of the period, which comes in this year, so for EUR 250 million. So let's say this, of course, will be done. And if possible, we will offset some debt with the cash available. This is the last question. The second issue is the market in Italy. For the market in Italy, of course, there is -- there are a lot of projects that were blocked in the past that's been released, also thanks to us, this year that are starting to produce, let's say, the Verona-Padua is starting this year. The Ionian 106 motorways is starting this year. There are -- all the COCIV, which is the General Milano high speed train, has been financed, and is going now at full speed. Part of this is also financed by the -- at the moment, for what I have seen on the press, let's say, it's financed through the PNR, which is the next generation. Of course, the next-generation will not be the only thing that the nation has to do. Let's say, there are a few things that are foreseen into the next generation, for instance, all the things that have to be finished by 2026. There are things that cannot be finished in 2026. But also, there are things that are not under the next-generation as a project, let's say, for instance, all the motorways and roads are not under this facility. So we will have, I think, with Draghi, a national plan for transportation for waste, for energy, for health, part of which will be financed by the next-generation. New part from PPP or project with a private sector, part from the balance sheet, part from the other funds available from the EU that you remember that there the development funds that are released every 7 years. And this year, we will have a new tranche of this financing, which is amounting around EUR 63 billion for the projects into -- especially in the south region. So let's say, I see a booming market for a number of reasons. First of all, we have to strengthen and to correct the demand of the -- that is missing through this radiation through the consequence of the pandemic, and we have to boost the employment. Of course, the easiest way to do it is to launch new project as all the Canadian economists knows. And the span which -- the state in these things is something which is mandatory, not only in Italy, but everywhere. So I would see a boom into the infrastructure market for the next future. Notwithstanding that, I said all, we have, already in our backlog, all the resources to cover the plan. We can expect some, let's say, some upside from this market trend, which is important. But we stick to the, let's say, to the safe plan that we made, that is already accomplished by the contracts we already have in hand. Going to the Middle East, I don't remember the question exactly, but...

Yes. Yes, but if you -- if we think that it could be a restart of the Middle East, some new opportunities.

Yes. I see also in the Middle East, I've been, last week, in Dubai, visiting clients. In Saudi Arabia, we are restarting all the activities for the metro line. I see that there is, let's say, around the world, more than in Europe, a feeling of that the pandemic is almost finished. Around the world, this sentiment is much stronger, especially in Asia and in Middle East. But now in the U.S., the economy, we'll boom and there are all the signs of that, that comes. So I'm very positive about the market for the future. But I want to stress that all these factors have not been factored in into the business plan for the core activity. So it's not relying on this.

And about the Messina Bridge.

Now the Messina Bridge, you know that this thing is it's very -- a lot of people like it, a lot of people do not. We had this contract in our portfolio when we purchased -- in Progetto, they took it off from us with a law. We are ready to do it. It's the only project which is fully ready to start in the South. It's needed for the high velocity train that goes there and stops there and then restarts from the other part of the channel. So it's very, very, let's say, complicated to imagine a high-velocity train that goes from Naples to Palermo that has to stop from one side of the street and go and make the passenger cross the street with a [ sheep ] and then start from the other side. So I would say they are nonsense. But and so we are positive also on that because it's needed, but with late orders from the government and from our clients that -- what to do? I'm positive about that.

Let me ask, Matteo. If you want, we can send you the list of the project that we included in the EUR 94 billion that could be unblocked to you and to everyone is interested in.

The next question is from Emanuele Gallazzi with Equita.

Three question from my side. The first one is if you can just quantify or give us an idea of the total down payment received in 2020 from Italian projects? Second one is on the equity investments. If you can just elaborate a little bit more on the impairment done in 2020 and on your expectation for 2021? And the final one is on Texas. If you can give us an update on the high-speed project and its financing.

Okay, probably, Pietro...

I can start while Massimo is looking at the tables, I can start about the Texas projects. We received all the permits, the client receives, of course, all the permits to go ahead and the license to operate the train. So now it's -- the contract with all the different subcontractors and contractors has been closed. So now the issue is on the financing part of it. I know that the government is working -- the government -- I mean, the U.S. government is working. And as you remember Biden, it is well-known for his love for the train activities. Everybody is now willing to give to the U.S. high velocity speed trains for connecting different cities. And let's say, a larger part of the city are now connecting anyway. They are part of the same city. Houston and Dallas, to say, it's most singled city with so -- even the high velocity, the high-speed train between the 2 will make it sort of metro line, high-speed metro line between the 2. So it's needed, the economy needs it. We are going more and more through mega cities that needs to be connected. And I think that one place in the world in which this trend is more quick than in other countries is U.S. So this is the solution for it. And we are ready. We just wait for the financial closure to take place to start, and we look forward to do that. Of course, this is not in our backlog because due to the significance and weight of this single contract, it would change the numbers. So we didn't give any impact on that -- on the core activity business plan, and not, of course, in the 2021 figures that you received. Massimo?

Regarding trading -- so regarding the advanced payment, the markup between the 30% coming from the relaunch decree and what was already in the contract that we cashed in, in 2020 it's about EUR 300 million. So regarding losses on investments, EUR 113 million are mainly related to the Panama Canal latest decision from the arbitration process.

One of the arbitration.

One of the arbitration and we wrote off EUR 165 million of Venezuela creditors. So now the total exposure is 0 to the Venezuela country and projects. And then there are some other minor depreciation and losses on investment that we...