on the right track to recovery,
cuts losses by
78%
in first quarter
Gross operating income
was up 72.5% driven by
the increase in operating
profit. Revenues climbed
2.7% to 1.435 billion euros
despite the ongoing
drop in public sector
investment in Spain.
FCC started to reap the results of the imple-
mentation of its Strategic Plan. The Citizen
Services Group slashed its losses by 78%
year-on-year to 31 million euros in compa-
rison with 140 million euros at 31 March
2014.
This positive trend is not limited to the
Group’s net income. Gross operating inco-
me (EBITDA) grew 72.5% year-on-year to
168 million euros tanks to the strong per-
formance of all activities, particularly Cons-
truction as a result of the incipient effect of
the adjustments in Spain and higher profit
generated by selective projects in foreign
markets.
Revenues were also up year-on-year. Net
sales totalled 1.435 billion euros, 2.7% hig-
her than in the same period last year. This
year-on-year variation was driven by the
14.8% increase in international revenues,
especially in the Construction division which
grew 49.3%. In Spain, revenues were down
4.9% mainly due to the impact of the strong
public sector investment in infrastructures.
Backlog also reflects this favourable perfor-
mance. The incorporation of new contracts
amounted to 33.446 billion, 1.8% higher
than at the end of March last year thanks
FCC
to new contracts in the Water and Environ-
mental divisions.
Net financial debt at the end of the first
quarter stood at 6.205 billion euros, 241
million more than at the end of 2013 as a
result of the seasonal increase in working
capital during the first half of the year.
In the opinion of Juan Béjar, the Group’s
vice-chairman and CEO “quarterly results
fulfil the commitments set out in the stra-
tegic plan and the refinancing agreement
recently executed with about 30 banks and
show that the Group continues on the right
tract improving profitability and competiti-
veness”.
The “red numbers”
are limited to 31 million
euros vs. 140 million in
the year-ago period
