Sales reached € 18.7 billion, up 10.1% EBITDA of € 1,157 million, up 23.8% following the consolidation of Australia’s Thiess, the global leader in diversified mining services, in April 2024, due to CIMIC’s shareholding in Thiess increasing to 60% Backlog exceeded € 86 billion, a record high, after growing 12.8% yoy Net debt of € 1.6 billion including Thiess’ debt of € 1.1 billion. Excluding Thiess, debt would have improved by € 642 million from June 2023 Agreement to acquire Irish-headquartered specialist engineering contractor Dornan by Turner, supporting strategic expansion Europe, especially in high-tech Integration of the Civil Engineering and Construction businesses in North America with the creation of Flatiron – Dragados Consolidated Results ACS Group´s net attributable profit in H1 2024 was € 416 million, up 8.1% due to solid operating performance from all activities, especially Turner in North America, and the consolidation of Thiess, the global leader in diversified mining services, following the acquisition by CIMIC of a further 10% investment in April. EPS grew by 8.8% to € 1.62. The Group´s ordinary net profit, excluding extraordinary results in both years increased by 11.4% to € 335 million. Operating Results The Group´s EBITDA was € 1,157 million, up 23.8% compared to the previous year. Features included the strong growth of Turner, which improved its operating margins, and the contribution of CIMIC following its further investment in Thiess. EBIT was € 807 million, 19.7% more than in the previous year, confirming the growth trend of previous quarters. International Diversification ACS Group´s sales in the first half of the year were € 18.7 billion, up 10.1% compared to the previous year, with a solid performance from all activities. Backlog at June 2024 was € 86.7 billion, up 12.8% from the same period of the previous year, due to the volume of awards recorded in the first half of the year, which exceeded € 23.8 billion. Around 50% of awards came from new generation infrastructure markets driven by strong growth in the digital infrastructure segment, with major data center contracts in all regions. Key awards during recent months included: In the United States and Canada: Construction of a large-scale data center with more than 65,000 m2 for Meta in Jeffersonville, Indiana (US). Expansion of Henry Ford Hospital, with new patient rooms, emergency room, laboratories and intensive care area, Detroit, Michigan (US). Construction of the new Geisinger Medical Center tower on the Wyoming Valley campus, Pennsylvania (US). Construction of several data centers in the US, with total revenue of € 3.6 billion. Construction of the Surrey Langley Skytrain project, an elevated subway line, Vancouver (Canada). Design and construction of the New Îlle D'Orléans bridge, Quebec (Canada). Construction of the South Dade Transit Operations Center, a 218,600 m2 maintenance and management complex for 100 electric buses, Miami (US). Development of improvements to Interstate Highway 35 and construction of the FM 664 bridge in Ellis County, Texas (US). Water infrastructure, including the construction of a pump station and microtunnel for wastewater and stormwater, Seattle, Washington (US). In Asia Pacific Extension of Northern District Hospital to serve an additional 1,500 hospital beds (Hong Kong). Design and construction of the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital redevelopment, Sydney (Australia). Development of Cobbora solar farm (700 MWac) and large-scale battery energy storage system, New South Wales (Australia). Construction and installation of phase 2 of the 341 MW / 1,363 MWh Collie Battery, Western Australia (Australia). Equipping a multinational technology corporation's data center to support an additional 10 MW load, Jakarta (Indonesia). Six-year extension of the mining services contract at Mount Arthur South for customer BHP, New South Wales (Australia). In Europe Construction of a campus with four 60 MW data centers, Warsaw (Poland). Construction of the new Atocha Passenger Station to connect the high-speed train between Atocha and Chamartín stations, Madrid (Spain). Fornebu metro station, Oslo (Norway). Construction and operation of a fast-charging network for electric vehicles (Germany). Public private partnership for the construction of a justice center with two 38,500 m2 buildings, Frankfurt (Germany). Design, construction and operation of a 700-room student residential complex for Staffordshire University, Staffordshire (United Kingdom). Results per Areas of Activity Integrated SolutionsTurnerTurner had sales of € 8,650 million, with solid growth of 13.5% year-on-year. Strong growth in awards (+36.3%) totaling more than € 13,067 million during the first half, boosted the backlog by 23.7% to € 30 billion, a record high.Margins continued to increase, supported by the strategy of growing in advanced technology projects and supply chain services solutions through SourceBlue. EBITDA grew by 26.7% to € 242 million, and pre-tax profit was € 247 million, up 38.5% compared to the previous year.Turner continued with its strategic plan for international growth. In July it reached an agreement to acquire Dornan Engineering Group, a specialist mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and commissioning engineering contractor, for an enterprise value of approximately € 400 million. Headquartered in Dublin, it has 1,000 direct employees and will deliver approximately € 700 million of work in 2024. Dornan is one of the three largest companies in its field in Europe, active in the development of data centers, biotechnology facilities and industrial projects in multiple sectors.Dornan maintains a similar business model to Turner, has well-established long-term client relationships, and operations in Ireland, the UK, Continental Europe, and the Nordics.CIMICCIMIC’s sales amounted to € 4,160 million. On a like-for-like basis, business growth was 6% in Australian dollar terms, driven by the advanced technology and energy transition markets.EBITDA grew by 16.5% to € 500 million, including the contribution of Thiess since 23 April, when CIMIC acquired an additional 10% investment. Profit before tax amounted to € 249 million, an increase of 36.6%. Contract awards during the first half grew by 3.8% on a like-for-like basis to more than € 6,061 million, bringing backlog to € 24.6 billion at June 2024.CIMIC continued its strategy of expanding in projects related to energy transition and natural resources, having invested more than A$ 500 million during the year, including the acquisition of a further 10% of Thiess, and the purchase of specialized engineering Prudentia, Minsol, PYBAR and Mintrex (the latter two through Thiess), as well as the development of sustainable mobility and electric transmission projects. Engineering and ConstructionDragadosDragados had a solid operating performance. Sales grew by 3.0% year-on-year to € 2,913 million, with a stable EBITDA margin of 3.2% to € 152 million. The improvement in financial results allowed Dragados to increase its pre-tax profit by 25.4% to € 66 million.Dragados' backlog was € 17.9 billion, growing by 10.5% in the first half of the year, with important contracts awarded in the areas of sustainable mobility and transport.Hochtief E&CHochtief's Engineering and Construction business had solid growth in its operations, with sales increasing by 13.3% to € 1,766 million and EBITDA by 11.8% to € 88 million. The backlog exceeded € 11.2 billion, growing by 7.2%.Business integration in North AmericaIt is worth highlighting the decision to ingegrate the Group's Engineering and Construction activities in North America through the creation of a new entity that will bring together the subsidiaries of Dragados and Hochtief in the region. The resulting entity, Flatiron - Dragados, will become the second largest civil engineering firm in the United States, with an extensive presence in the country, solid technical references and unparalleled experience in large infrastructure projects, giving it unique competitive advantages.The operation aims to simplify the Group's structure of the civil engineering activity in North America, facilitate the relationship with the different stakeholders and promote administrative and financial synergies, resulting in a better quality offer to our clients, a commercial approach with a low risk profile and a higher profitability for our shareholders. InfrastructureThe Infrastructure segment (Abertis and Iridium) contributed € 109 million to the Group's pre-tax profit, slightly lower than in the first half of 2023 due to a lower contribution from Abertis as a result of the application of the new tax rate in France and the incorporation of the new assets recently acquired.AbertisAbertis had a solid operating performance, with revenue growth of 11.2% and EBITDA growth of 12.9%, due to: -Average traffic growth of 0.8%, and the contribution of the recently acquired new assets in Spain, US and Puerto Rico. -An average toll increase of 4.0% as a result of regulated inflation protection mechanisms.Abertis continued with its growth strategy. During the half-year it completed: -The acquisition of 100% of Autovía del Camino in Spain for € 110 million. -The extension of the Intervías concession in Brazil for 12 years. -The capital increase of € 1.3 billion.IridiumIridium's contribution to the Group's profit decreased by € 6 million due to the reduced stake in the SH288 toll road following its partial sale to Abertis in December 2023.Iridium reached an agreement to acquire approximately 50% of the shareholding of Skyports, a global leader in advanced air mobility through the operation of vertiports, sustainable infrastructure for air mobility and drone flights. The agreement includes a right of first refusal for the construction of and investment in Skyports. Financial Situation The Group closed the first half of 2024 with a net debt position of € 1,605 million, an increase of € 440 million over the last 12 months due to the consolidation of Thiess and its € 1,082 million in debt at June 2024. Excluding this accounting impact, the Group's debt would have decreased by € 642 million from June 2023.Excluding this accounting impact, the evolution of the Group’s financial position was excellent, with strong net operating cash flow for the last 12 months exceeding € 1,800 million.The Group allocated € 793 million to shareholder remuneration during the period, both for ACS and HOCHTIEF's minority shareholders.The net balance of financial and project investments and divestments during the last 12 months was € 553 million.
