The net turnover of Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas, S.A. (FCC) for the 2004 financial year was â¬6,285.9 million, which represents a 3.9% increase over the year before. All of the strategic areas had positive growth rates: Services (+11.6%), Construction (+ 4.7%) and Cement (+ 1.8%).
In Spain, the Group´s business continued to grow steadily (+4.3%). International business accounted for 10.2% of total turnover.
Thanks to the new contracts awarded to the Group, the portfolio of outstanding construction work and services as of the end of the year reached a record high of â¬16,405,100,000, which represents an increase of 6.9% compared to the same date the year before.
Services
The services area grew by 11.6%, with the highest growth rates in:
- Industrial waste (+29%) where the area´s good performance was coupled with the effects of the new companies acquired during the financial year.
- Water (+8.3%) as a result of the new contracts awarded throughout Spain being implemented.
- Transportation (+32.8%) thanks to the commencement of operations of the Barcelona tram system.
- Parking (+22.8%) with new managed parking garages in Madrid.
- Logistics (+11.2%) thanks to the contracts signed in connection with new activities.
The turnover in this area rose by 4.7% based on domestic activity (+3.9%) and international sales (+27.8%), which for the first time in several years registered positive growth rates.
The portfolio of work under construction reached a record high of â¬4,351.2 million, 18.9% more than the year before. This figure guarantees the Group 16.9 months of business activity, two months more than at the end of 2003.
Turnover was â¬881.5 million, which represents an increase of 1.8%. The strength of the Spanish market, where sales were up by 3.5%, offset the decline in the United States due to an 8% depreciation of the dollar against the euro.
The gross operating profit (Ebitda) was â¬851.3 million, which represents an increase of 5.9% and a sales margin of 13.5%, up two-tenths from the year before.
Ordinary profits were â¬570.2 million, a 9.4% increase over the year before and 9% of turnover. In 2003, the percentage was 8.6%.
In addition to the positive evolution of operating profits, financial costs were contained as a consequence of a decrease in indebtedness and the maintenance of interest rates at currently low levels.
Furthermore, the results of the companies carried by the equivalence method revealed a higher contribution by Realia, whose net profits increased by 9.8%.
Profits before taxes (BAI) grew by 21.6% to â¬603.3 million, which includes â¬33.1 million of extraordinary results, generated primarily by the sale of 10% of Safei.
The net profit of the parent company was 388.36 million euros, which represents an increase of 25.8% over the previous year and an improvement of 1.1% of the net sales margin which ended at 6.2%.
The Group´s investments were â¬625 million, a similar figure to that of the previous year.
The Group´s net indebtedness was â¬250.8 million, which amounts to a reduction of 54.1%. The leveraging ratio (net debt divided by debt plus capital and reserves plus minority shareholders) was 9.28% compared to 19.7% the year before.
As of December 31, FCC had 63,602 employees, which means that 1,813 new jobs were added during the year.
Source: FCC
