Abertis faces the end of two concession contracts in Spain this Tuesday, that of Acesa, the most important of the group in the world, and that of Invicat. This will have a severe impact on the income statement of the company controlled by Atlantia and ACS.
Specifically, both concessions represent, together, 13.2% of revenues and 18% of gross operating profit (ebitda). The reversal of these contracts is added to the one that already took place at the end of 2019 with Aumar, another of its major projects.
However, the firm led by José Aljaro has been preparing for years to conclude these concessions and in 2020 it initialed its entry into two markets, the United States and Mexico, with the acquisition, respectively, of Elizabeth River Crossings and Red de Carreteras de Occidente. (RCO), with an investment of more than 2,500 million euros.
Acesa, 100% controlled by Abertis, is the concessionaire of the state-owned sections of the AP-7 between Salou and the French border and of the AP-2 between Zaragoza and El Vendrell (Barcelona), owned by the State. The barriers will thus be raised in 478.3 kilometers, of which 376 kilometers run through Catalonia and 102 kilometers through Aragon.
This company contributed 38.2 million euros to the group’s consolidated result in 2020, which stood at -391.8 million as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2019, the amount reached 117.8 million, which represented a third of Abertis’ profits, which stood at 351.7 million that year.
Acesa generated 418 million euros in 2020, which represented 10.3% of the total Abertis
In terms of revenues, Acesa generated 418 million euros in 2020, which represented 10.3% of the total Abertis. A similar percentage to the one it reached in 2019, when it obtained 551 million for the exploitation of tolls. Meanwhile, the gross operating profit (ebitda) of the concessionaire was limited to 377 million euros last year, equivalent to 14.3% of the group’s total. A weight greater than the one recorded in the previous year when, with 467 million, it was 12.5%.
For its part, Invicat ends its contract with the Generalitat to operate the 66.5 kilometers of the C-32 Barcelona-Montmeló and C-31 and C-32 Montgat-Tordera sections this Tuesday. This company contributed a negative result of 5.4 million euros in 2020, compared to the positive 48.4 million it had added in 2019 -this figure represents 13.7% of the total-.
Invicat achieved revenues of 116 million in 2020, which represents 2.9% of the total. Five tenths above the 2.4% registered in 2019, with 130 million. The concessionaire’s ebitda amounted to 98 million in the last fiscal year, 3.7% of the total; also higher than the 3% of 2019 (112 million).
The sum of Acesa and Invicat represented a positive contribution to Abertis’ results of almost 33 million in 2020
The sum of Acesa and Invicat represented a positive contribution to Abertis’ results of almost 33 million in 2020, a year in which it incurred losses due to the collapse of traffic in the framework of the pandemic.
However, in 2019, therefore without this exceptional situation, the positive impact on the group’s accounts was 166.2 million euros, which represents 47.2% of the total. A weight that, in any case, has been limited with the acquisitions in Mexico in the United States mentioned.
Regarding revenues, between the two concessions they totaled 534 million in 2020, 13.2% of the total. In 2019 this percentage was 12.7%. And by ebitda, the 475 million that they harvested in the past year were equivalent to 18%, compared to 15.5% a year earlier. These increases are largely due to the end of the Aumar concession on December 31, 2019.
Spain will cut its weight in the multinational income statement by almost half
Altogether, next Tuesday they will revert to the Administrations a total of 544.8 kilometers. Of these, 442.4 kilometers are located in Catalonia, which will no longer have state pay roads, and 102.4 kilometers in Aragon.
With the reversal of these highways, Spain will lose the star role that it has always played in Abertis’ balance sheet. Thus, at the end of the first semester, it accounted for 20.3% of the group’s income and 22.8% of ebitda. These percentages will be reduced to about half with the expiration of Acesa and Invicat.
All in all, Abertis will still receive millionaire compensation from the State for works and traffic flows. The Government admits 1,291 million , although the company claims more than 3,000 million.
