Revenues slip at Ferrovial

Spanish contractor Ferrovial reported a 6.2% year-on-year drop in construction revenues for 2011 to €4.2 billion, driven by lower residential and non-residential volumes and reduced civil works.

The company said public sector tendering fell 43% during 2011, reaching its lowest level in the last 12 years.

Weak conditions persisted in Ferrovial's domestic market, leading to a 17.2% drop in Spanish revenues to €1.8 billion, while the Spanish construction backlog was down 12.1% year-on-year to €3.2 billion at the end of 2011.

The international construction division fared better with a backlog up 3.8% to €6.8 billion at the end of last year - a figure which includes its recent joint venture contracts for work on the UK's Crossrail project - while revenues rose 3.9% year-on-year to €2.5 billion.

The revenue increase was primarily thanks to a strong performance from Budimex, Ferrovial's Polish subsidiary, which reported a 30.5% year-on-year increase in revenues to €1.3 billion, fuelled by large contracts awarded in 2010 including Poland's A1 and A4 toll roads and Wroclaw rail station.

The Budimex backlog was also up 24.2% to €1.9 billion thanks to new contract wins including Poland's Lubin and Augustow ring roads, and Line 9 of the IIawa railway.

Ferrovial's overall construction backlog, combining its international and domestic operations, dropped 1.8% year-on-year to €9.9 billion at the end of 2011. Civil work fell 1.9% to €7.6 billion, while residential work fell 12.8% to €364 million and non-residential work fell 3.4% to €1.3 billion. Offsetting this, the industrial backlog was up 9.2% to reach €696.3 million.

Nevertheless, the contractor's overall construction earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) increased 2.4% year-on-year to €247.6 million. Domestic EBITDA stood at €128.8 million, up 5% year-on-year, while international EBITDA was €118.8million, down 0.3% year-on-year.