Sacyr Vallehermoso group (SyV) obtained net attributable profit of 144.38 mln in the first quarter of 2005, up 111.7% on the first quarter of 2004, after restating the accounts for that period last year in compliance with the new financial reporting standards in order that they may be homogeneously comparable.
EBITDA or gross operating income surged 38.1% to 199.88 mln, stimulated by the improvement in this section of all areas of business, especially concessions, housing development and rental property. Also noteworthy is the obtaining of positive EBITDA at Valoriza, the services division. The most recurrent business activities (concessions, rental property and services) already contribute 53.9% of gross operating income.
Turnover reached 817.48 mln, up 9.8% on the same period last year. All areas posted increases in this chapterespecially Vallehermoso, Itínere and Valorizaexcept for construction company Somague, affected by the s lowdown inpublic works business in Portugal.
The group's cash flow reached 202.65 mln, as opposed to 121.47 million last year (+66.8%). This growth is also accompanied by an improvement in profitability in that the gross margin (operating income/turnover) rose more than three points to 17.5%, and net margin (net profit/turnover) doubled to 17.7%. The ratio of EBITDA/turnover reached 24.5% against 19.5% just a year ago. As at March 31, the total future revenues portfolio stood at 60,959.5 mln, with a latent EBITDA of 40,352.93 mln.
Construction (Sacyr-Somague)
Revenues from the construction business were 432.8 mln in the first quarter, a slight decrease of 2.1% due to the weakness of the Portuguese market. Sacyr, which does business in Spain, Chile and Italy, improved its turnover 5.2%. Net profit reached 37.8 million euros, up 132.9% on the same period in 2004. The construction portfolio rose to 3,761 mln, 26.6% more than a year ago. During the quarter new construction projects were obtained for 698.1 mln, up 61.4%. The most significant ones were:
- burial of M-30 highway between Avenida Portugal and Paseo Extremadura in Madrid for 143.35 mln;
- construction of a highway in Bulgaria for 104.43 mln;
- tunnel in Tetuán district of Madrid for 59.62 mln;
- urbanization PAU 4 Móstoles Sur for 47.06 mln;
- Central University Hospital in Asturias for 75.24 mln;
- pavilions 12 and 14 for Ifema (Madrid Convention Center) for 56.44 mln;
- homes for Vallehermoso for 70.46 mln.
Infrastructure concessions (Itínere)
Highways operated by Itínere posted sound traffic performance In the first quarter, generating a 9.6% increase in revenues to 79.59 mln and a 15.5% increase in EBITDA to 61 mln. The division's net profit, affected by the new accounting of financial expenses and lineal depreciation of assets, posted losses of 12.58 mln, less than the 2004 losses calculated at 18.15 mln. All concessions in Spain and Chile experienced significant increases in traffic, especially Aucalsa (8.5%), Avasa (5.4%), Audenasa (5.7%) and Audasa (3.6%). The investment made by the Sacyr Vallehermoso group in this business activity reached 4.8 billion euros at the end of the period.
Housing development (Vallehermoso)
The residential development business line grew significantly in the first quarter, with sales increasing 59.8% (266.31 mln). EBITDA tripled to 66.15 mln (+191.91%) and net profit also surged 223.7% to 31.44 mln. Sales booked as at March 31 were 293.04 mln, up 32.4% on the same period last year. Investments in land (285.4 mln in the quarter relating to 2,426 homes) complete a Land bank of 4.2 mln m², equivalent to 25,700 homes, or 5.6 years of business. The accounting of homes is made upon delivery of keys, as indicated by the new reporting standards.
Rental Property (Testa)
The rental property business carried on by Testa posted a consistent increase of 19% in revenues to 54.04 mln. EBITDA grew more than 25.8% to 44.1 mln. The absence of asset turnover, just as the group had announced in its strategy for
