FCC sees losses fall
28 April 2014
A 78% reduction in losses is being reported by FCC, the global Spanish construction and infrastructure group, with first quarter results this year showing a loss of €31 million compared to €140 million this time last year.
FCC said its gross operating profit had grown 72.5% to €168 million as a result of success in all business areas.
In particular, FCC said its international construction projects had contributed significantly.
Earlier this month, FCC inaugurated the Panama City Metro, which it said was the first such transport system to be built in Central America. In 2014, the company has also won contracts two major contracts to build metro lines in Doha, Qatar, and Lima, Peru, as well as starting work on the Riyadh Metro in Saudi Arabia.
FCC’s revenues in the first quarter increased by 2.7% to €1,435.4 billion, despite the ongoing decline in public sector investment in Spain. It said this improvement was a result of a 14.8% increase in international revenues – particularly in the construction area, which registered 49.3% growth.
In Spain, revenues declined by 4.9% mainly because of the negative impact of what FCC described as a “sharp adjustment in public spending on infrastructure”.
The backlog also performed well, according to FCC, increasing by 1.8% year-on-year to €33,446.3 billion, which it put down to major new contracts in the water and environmental services businesses.
Vice chairman and CEO Juan Béjar said, "These quarterly results fulfil the commitments set out in the strategic plan and in the refinancing agreement signed recently with around 30 banks, and show that the group continues to improve in profitability and competitiveness".
