ACCIONA’s attributable net profit rose 28.5% to €42 million in the first quarter of 2015 thanks to the growth of ACCIONA Energia. The favourable evolution of ACCIONA Windpower, which achieved an Ebidta of €15 million in the first quarter of 2015, against a loss of €4 million the year before, and a strong quarter for internationalpower generation, contributed to a 24.3% rise in Group Ebidta to €280 million.
Ordinary Earnings Before Tax reached €66 million, compared with €13 million in the same period of last year.
Consolidated revenues increased 9% to €1,528 million, thanks mainly to a strong contribution from ACCIONA Windpower, which more than doubled its revenues compared to the first quarter of 2014; a growth in power generation income from international markets and the addition of new capacity in the past 12 months. The Construction business also made a positive contribution, with a 2% growth in revenues as a result of the good performance in the construction and engineering activities. These factors helped mitigate a decrease in Water revenues and Other Activities.
ACCIONA’s attributable equity at the end of March 2015 was €3,448 million, or 2% higher than at the end of December 2014. Net financial debt increased slightly from €5,294 million at the end of 2014 to €5,380 million at end-March 2015. Debt rose by €139 million as a result of the mark-to-market effect of derivatives and the evolution of exchange rate trends. Without these two effects, net financial debt would have decreased by €53 million from December 2014.
Net ordinary capital expenditure amounted to €55 million, down 34.3% compared with the first quarter of 2014. Energy took the lion’s share of investment outlays with €41 million.
Results by Division
ACCIONA Energia revenues increased 31.6% to €640 million. Ebidta increased 28.9% to €241 million, while Earnings Before Tax totalled €65 million compared with €12 million in the first quarter of 2014.
The results were mainly driven by the good performance of ACCIONA Windpower, which recorded an Ebidta of €15 million against a loss of €4 million in the same quarter of 2014, and higher earnings from power generation outside Spain, the Ebidta of which grew 30.5% thanks to an increase in installed capacity abroad and favourable currency movements, namely the appreciation of the US dollar.
Power generation totalled 4,965 GWh, up 2.6% over the first quarter of 2014, thanks to an increase in installed capacity in the past 12 months, higher wind and solar load factors, which offset a lower hydro factor in the quarter.
Revenues and Ebidta of the Infrastructure division, which includes the activities of Construction, Water and Services, were stable at €789 million and €28 million respectively.
The Construction backlog totalled €6,264 million at the end of March, 13% higher than at the end of March 2014. The international backlog grew to 69% of the total, compared with 55% a year ago. New works totalling €1,083 million, 90% from outside Spain, were added to the backlog in the first quarter.
The Water division registered a 15.7% decline in revenues to €89 million mainly due to a reduction in design and construction work as a result from the completion of main projects. The Water backlog stood at €9,575 million at the end of March 2015, down 3% from last year.
The Services division, which encompasses a series of services including airport handling, facility services, logistics and waste management, reported a 3.7% increase in revenues to €165 million, mainly thanks to the growth of facility services. The division contributed a positive Ebidta of €2 million.
Other Activities – which includes Trasmediterranea, Real Estate, Bestinver, wineries and others – reported revenues of €127 million, down 16.3% over the first quarter of 2014. Nevertheless, Ebidta increased 16.2% to €11 million, thanks to Trasmediterranea’s better performance as a result of lower fuel prices and higher revenues.
Bestinver’s assets under management stood at €6,023 million at the end of March 2015. It reported revenues of €22 million and an Ebitda of €14 million in the quarter.
