ACCIONA achieves a net profit of €352 million in 2019
ACCIONA recorded a net profit of €352 million in 2019 (+7.2%). Excluding corporate operations closed in 2018, profits increased +60.3%. These results reflect the company’s growing operating efficiency and solid growth in business margins, as part of a strategy aimed at providing sustainable solutions for customers. At year-end, 93% of the company’s investments and 83% of its gross operating profit (EBITDA) qualified as “low carbon” activities, according to the EU’s new taxonomy of business activities.
ACCIONA’s turnover for the year reached €7.2 billion (-4.2%) and the company significantly improved its gross operating margin (18.9%, +2.3pp). EBITDA amounted to €1.36B (+9.0%).
Throughout the year, ACCIONA’s overall investment increased to €1.24 billion. The Energy business accounted for the largest portion of investment (€509 million). 2019 saw the installation of 471MW, with a further 835MW under construction, mainly in Mexico, USA, Australia, Chile and Ukraine.
Additionally, the company subscribed Nordex’s 10% capital increase (€99 million). Total investment in infrastructure amounted to €372 million, mainly concentrated on the Sydney Light Rail concession and the purchase of heavy machinery in Canada. The real estate business made net investments totaling €210 million.
Net financial debt stood at €4.9 billion, €5.3 billion including the impact of the first application of IFRS16 accounting standards. With a net debt/EBITDA ratio of 3.92x, the company’s leverage at year-end was below guidance, 4.00x.
Results by division
The Energy division’s turnover reached €1.99 billion (-9.5%) last year. This figure reflects a reduction in hydraulic production in Spain, due to lower rainfall levels. The sum also includes the sale of various CSP installations in 2018. Nonetheless, EBITDA amounted to €845 million (+13.7%) thanks to the contribution of new generation assets.
In the past twelve months, ACCIONA’s installed capacity increased by 469MW with new energy plants in the USA (145MW), Chile (251MW) and Ukraine (76MW). In Spain, a concession for a small hydraulic installation (3MW) expired.
By the end of 2019, ACCIONA had 10.1GW of installed capacity: 56% in Spain and 44% in international markets, with a total annual production of 22,991GWh. The company currently has a potential portfolio of new projects that totals over 13GW.
The Infrastructure business (Construction, Concessions, Water and Services) recorded a turnover of €5 billion (-0.5%) as well as an EBITDA of €431 million (+2.9%).
The total Infrastructure portfolio increased to €11.4 billion (+5.0%). The turnkey project business (EPC) grew strongly during the period (more than €4.7 billion of new projects signed) and the portfolio now stands at €8 billion. Desalination, bridge and railway line construction have been the EPC projects most demanded by customers.
During the year, the company continued to successfully carried out a number of international contracts with high added value. Important works progressed on projects in more advanced phases or nearing completion, such as the Sydney Light Rail (Australia), the Follo Line tunnels (Norway), phase II of the Quito Metro (Ecuador), the Site C hydraulic project (Canada) and the expansion of the Dubai Metro (UAE).
Regarding the group’s Other Businesses, ACCIONA’s Real Estate division increased revenues to €141M (+67.6%), driven by the delivery of 412 residential units during 2019.
At the end of the year, Bestinver’s assets under management stood at €6.79 billion (+24,0%). ACCIONA’s asset manager announced last year the purchase of Fidentiis in order to develop new business lines.
