FCC profits are up

Spanish-based contractor FCC Group has reported net attributable profit of €153.5 million in the first nine months of 2017, contrasting with a loss of €179.4 million in the same period of 2016, which included an adjustment of goodwill in the cement business.

The group reported that profit accelerated in the third quarter to €97 million, which was almost double the €56.5 million booked in the first half.

EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) amounted to €318.3 million, in contrast to the €44.4 million loss recognised in the same period of 2016. Earnings before taxes amounted to €186.2 million.

FCC Group’s consolidated revenues amounted to €4.26 billion for the first nine months of 2017, a 2.8% decline year-on-year. This was said mainly to be a result of the deconsolidation of its US cement business in November 2016 and, to a lesser extent, the depreciation of certain currencies against the Euro.

FCC said that adjusting for both effects, consolidated revenues would have increased by 2.3% compared to the same period of 2016.

EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) declined slightly, by 2.6%, in the first nine months – again because of the revenue effects. FCC said that adjusting for them, EBITDA would have increased by 2%. At 14%, the EBITDA margin was similar to the same period of 2016.

Among its business areas, construction reported €50.5 million in EBITDA, 48.5% more than in the same period of 2016, said FCC.

In September, Pablo Colio was appointed group CEO in place of Carlos Jarque. He stepped down as CEO on 12 September, and continues as a proprietary director. The new CEO has worked 23 years in a range of executive positions within the group, which concentrates on environmental services, infrastructure and water management, and is majority owned by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim.

The group said that highlights in the first nine months of the year included FCC Aqualia securing a $320 million (€275.17 million) contract for a wastewater treatment plant in Egypt, the environmental services decision winning €230 million of contracts in Spain, and a consortium including FCC Construccion being awarded the contract to upgrade three sections of railway infrastructure in Romania.

In January, a consortium of companies headed by Grupo Carso, and including FCC, won the contract to build the terminal building for the New International Airport for Mexico City (NAICM).

A new contract governing the conditions of FCC’s syndicated loan came into force on 8 June, 2017. Described as a milestone in the process of optimising the group’s finances, this was said to have had an immediate positive impact on cash flow