First half 2019 financial results

31 July 2019 - 7:30 am - Finances

· Revenue up 10% to €21.7 billion
    - Concessions up 12%: continued good momentum in passenger numbers at VINCI Airports (up 6.7%), stable traffic levels at VINCI Autoroutes
    - Contracting up 10%: firm business levels and growth in the order book across the three business lines (VINCI Energies, Eurovia and VINCI Construction)
    - VINCI Immobilier up 20%

· Earnings growth:
    - Operating income from ordinary activities (Ebit) of €2.3 billion (up 9.1%)
    - Net income attributable to owners of the parent of €1.4 billion (up 4.5%)

· Strong free cash flow (up €0.5 billion relative to the first half of 2018)
· International expansion: London Gatwick airport acquisition completed in May
· 2019 outlook maintained
· Interim dividend: €0.79 per share (up 5.3%)

Key figures

 

Xavier Huillard, VINCI’s Chairman and CEO, made the following comments:

“In the first half of 2019, the VINCI Group had strong business momentum and delivered a further increase in earnings despite the high base for comparison. Free cash flow was positive, despite the seasonal variations in our businesses, which traditionally hamper cash flow at the start of the year.

These good results confirm the strength of the Group’s integrated Concessions-Contracting business model, in which infrastructure concessions now account for a larger proportion. In May, VINCI completed the acquisition of London Gatwick airport, the United Kingdom’s second-largest airport, the eighth-largest in Europe and now the largest within the VINCI Airports portfolio.

In the Concessions business, passenger levels remained buoyant across most of the VINCI Airports portfolio. After the integration of its recent acquisitions, VINCI Airports is now the world’s second-largest airport operator in terms of passenger numbers, and the most diversified with 46 airports in 12 countries. At VINCI Autoroutes, the social unrest that disrupted business in late 2018 continued in January 2019, but the situation then returned to normal. Over the first half as a whole, traffic levels were stable.

In Contracting, organic growth was strong, both in France and abroad, and order intake was firm. Each business line saw growth in its order book to a new high. However, Contracting operating margin fell slightly due mainly to difficulties encountered by VINCI Construction on several projects and reduced business levels at certain subsidiaries operating in the oil and gas sector, although these negative factors were offset to a large extent by stronger earnings at VINCI Energies and Eurovia.

VINCI took advantage of favourable market conditions and carried out several transactions to refinance its debt on excellent terms, extending the average maturity while diversifying its funding sources with two inaugural bond issues in sterling and US dollars.

Based on this first-half performance, VINCI is confirming its outlook of higher revenue and net income for full-year 2019.”

VINCI’s Board of Directors, chaired by Xavier Huillard, met on 30 July 2019 to approve the financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2019. The Board also approved the payment of a 2019 interim dividend of €0.79 per share, representing an increase of 5.3%.

 

I. Solid financial performance and strong free cash flow

VINCI’s consolidated financial statements for the first half of 2019 show increases in revenue, Ebitda, Ebit, net income attributable to owners of the parent and free cash flow.

Consolidated revenue totalled €21.7 billion¹ in the first half of 2019, up 10.0% on an actual basis relative to the first half of 2018. Organic growth was 5.9% (6.8% in France and 4.9% outside France). Changes in consolidation scope had a positive 3.7% impact (mainly outside France), while exchange-rate movements boosted revenue by 0.4%, mainly because of the rise in several currencies – the US dollar in particular – against the euro. Of VINCI’s total revenue, 44% was generated outside France (42% in the first half of 2018).
Concessions revenue totalled €3.8 billion, up 12.0% on an actual basis (up 4.6% like-for-like).

- VINCI Autoroutes’ revenue grew 2.6% to €2.6 billion.

- At VINCI Airports, revenue surged by 44% to €1.1 billion. That figure includes the revenue contributions from the AWW airports (included since the end of August 2018), Belgrade airport (included since late December 2018) and London Gatwick airport (included since 13 May 2019), which totalled €247 million during the period. Like-for-like, VINCI Airports’ revenue rose 8.1%, driven by continuing strong growth in passenger numbers across almost all airports.

Contracting revenue totalled €17.7 billion, up 9.9% (up 6.5% like-for-like).

- VINCI Energies’ revenue rose to €6.4 billion (up 8.8% on an actual basis and up 4.6% like-for-like), supported by the integration of recent acquisitions, in France and abroad, which contributed €224 million to the revenue increase. In France (46% of the total), the increase was driven by the infrastructure and ICT (Information Communication Technologies) activities. Outside France (54% of the total), revenue benefited from good momentum in most geographies, from the integration of PrimeLine in the United States and Wah Loon Engineering in Singapore, both acquired in 2018, and from the new acquisitions in 2019.

- Eurovia’s revenue jumped by 16.9% (10.0% like-for-like) to €4.4 billion. In France (58% of the total), momentum in the roadworks and urban development market remained strong. Outside France (42% of the total), business levels were buoyant in Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada. The main scope effect during the period was the integration of the industrial and roadworks businesses acquired from Lane Construction in the United States in late December 2018.

- VINCI Construction’s revenue totalled €7.0 billion (up 6.9% on an actual basis and up 6.1% like-for-like). In France (54% of the total), performance varied from one region to another, with strong business levels in the Paris region due to Grand Paris projects. Outside France (46% of the total) business levels rose in the United Kingdom, Central Europe and Africa (Sogea Satom), confirming the upturn seen in 2018. In specialty business areas, Soletanche Freyssinet and VINCI Construction Grands Projets performed well outside France, offsetting weaker activity in oil and gas-related businesses.

VINCI Immobilier achieved strong growth in revenue, which rose 19.5% to €470 million due to ongoing firm production in both residential and commercial property in Paris and other major urban areas in France.

Ebitda totalled €3,625 million, equal to 16.7% of revenue, up 180 basis points compared to the first half of 2018. Adjusted for the impact caused by the first-time adoption of IFRS 16 “Leases” since 1 January 2019, Ebitda amounted to €3,371 million, a year-on-year increase of 15%.

Operating income from ordinary activities (Ebit) was €2,289 million, up 9.1%. The Ebit margin was 10.5% (10.6% in the first half of 2018). The adoption of IFRS 16 did not have a material impact on Ebit.

- Ebit in the Concessions business rose 12.3% to €1,844 million (€1,407 million from VINCI Autoroutes and €432 million from VINCI Airports), equal to 48.1% of revenue (47.9% in the first half of 2018).

- Contracting generated Ebit of €432 million, similar to the €436 million achieved in the first half of 2018 and equal to 2.4% of revenue (2.7% in the first half of 2018). VINCI Energies’ Ebit margin was 5.9% (up 20 basis points). Eurovia’s Ebit margin also improved, despite the seasonality effect of its new North American activities⁴. VINCI Construction’s Ebit margin fell to 0.9%, mainly because of difficulties experienced in several projects and weaker business levels in oil- and gas-related activities.

Recurring operating income – including the impact of share-based payments (IFRS 2), the contribution of companies accounted for under the equity method, and miscellaneous recurring operating items – rose 8.7% to €2,341 million.

Net income attributable to owners of the parent amounted to €1,359 million, up 4.5% relative to the first half of 2018. Earnings per share⁵ amounted to €2.43 (€2.32 in the first half of 2018), up 4.7%.

Free cash flow was positive despite the unfavourable impact of the seasonal nature of the Group’s activities. It was €316 million in the first half of 2019, a big improvement on the €136 million outflow seen in the first half of 2018.

Consolidated net financial debt at end-June 2019 was €24.2 billion, up €8.7 billion relative to 31 December 2018. As well as the seasonal increase in the working capital requirement (€1.4 billion), debt levels were pushed higher by the acquisition of London Gatwick airport.

Dividends paid and share buy-backs carried out in the first half of 2019 represented a total outflow of €1.6 billion (€1.5 billion in the first half of 2018).

At 30 June 2019, Group liquidity amounted to €11.7 billion (€8.6 billion at 30 June 2018 and €13.6 billion at 31 December 2018). This figure comprises €3.5 billion of managed net cash and €8.2 billion of unused confirmed bank credit facilities. The latter include a facility held by VINCI (€8 billion and due to expire in 2023) and another held by the London Gatwick airport company (€0.2 billion).

The consolidated financial statements for the six months ended 30 June 2019 are available on the VINCI website: https://www.vinci.com/vinci.nsf/en/investors.htm

 

II. Buoyant operating performance across all business lines

VINCI Airports’ passenger numbers continued to post strong growth: 6.7% in the first half as a whole, including 15.5% in Cambodia, 10.1% in France and 9.5% in the Dominican Republic. Passenger numbers were boosted by the opening of 224 new airline routes. Passenger traffic growth in Portugal (up 7.2%) confirms that country’s tourist appeal. At the Lisbon hub, passenger numbers rose by 6.6%, despite a high base for comparison and the airport’s capacity constraints. On 8 January 2019, to deal with rising passenger numbers until the end of the concession in 2063, VINCI Airports signed an agreement with the Portuguese government to increase the capital’s airport capacity.

At VINCI Autoroutes, traffic levels remained stable in the first half. The slight 0.4% decrease in light-vehicle traffic resulted from the residual effect in early 2019 of the social unrest that started in France in late 2018, negative calendar effects and a high base for comparison (motorway traffic benefited from people switching from rail to road journeys in the second quarter of 2018 because of disruption to rail services). On the plus side, heavy-vehicle traffic remained buoyant, with growth of 2.0% despite there being one less business day than in the year-earlier period.

In Contracting, order intake rose 9% year-on-year to €20.7 billion in the first half of 2019. On a rolling 12-month basis, order intake was up 15% (up 24% outside France and up 6% in France).

At 30 June 2019, the order book stood at an historical high of €36.2 billion, an increase of 9% compared with 31 December 2018 (14% outside France and 4% in France) and 11% over 12 months, with growth in all business lines. The order book represented almost 12 months of average business activity (9 months at VINCI Energies, 10 months at Eurovia and over 15 months at VINCI Construction). International accounted for 57% of the order book at 30 June 2019 (51% at 30 June 2018).

At VINCI Immobilier, the number of homes reserved fell slightly to 2,990, but the corresponding revenue increased 4%.

 

Other highlights

- International growth in Concessions

On 13 May 2019, VINCI Airports completed the acquisition of a majority (50.01%) stake in London Gatwick Limited, the company that holds perpetual ownership of the United Kingdom’s second-largest airport, handling 46 million passengers in 2018.

As part of a consortium with Irish company Abtran, VINCI Highways won an 11-year contract to manage free-flow tolling transactions and customer services on the Dublin ring road (M50).

- New contracts

Among the contracts won by the Group in the first half of 2019, the most significant were as follows.

VINCI Energies:

- All technical installation work as part of the Korsvägen and Centralen station projects in Gothenburg, Sweden.

- Installation of electrical equipment at two new RER E line stations (La Défense and Porte Maillot) and the 8 km tunnel between Haussmann Saint Lazare station and the future Nanterre La Folie station.

Eurovia:

- Maintenance of the main urban motorway in Calgary, Canada.

- Extension of the light train Confederation Line in Ottawa, Canada, alongside VINCI Construction.

- Refurbishment of a railway near Prague in the Czech Republic.

VINCI Construction:

- Design-build contract for the I-64 road link between Hampton and Norfolk in Virginia (United States).

- Construction of a LNG tank in Canada.

- Innovation

VINCI Construction, via its Freyssinet subsidiary, launched Concreative, a new company focusing on 3D printing of high-performance concrete and backed by Leonard, VINCI’s forward-looking innovation platform. In June 2019, as the first stage in its development, Concreative brought into service its first design-build factory in Dubai to meet demand in the region.

- Management

In March 2019, Arnaud Grison was appointed Chairman and CEO of VINCI Energies, replacing Yves Meignié who retired.

 

III. Debt management

 

In the first half of 2019, against a market background that remained positive, the Group (rated A- by Standard & Poor’s with positive outlook and A3 by Moody’s with stable outlook) completed several refinancing transactions.

- In January, the Group issued €950 million of bonds due to mature in January 2029 with a coupon of 1.625%.

- In March, it carried out its first sterling bond issue in an amount of £800 million, consisting of £400 million of bonds due to mature in March 2027 with a coupon of 2.25% and £400 million due to mature in September 2034 with a coupon of 2.75%.

- In April, it completed its inaugural US dollar bond issue of$1 billion due to mature in April 2029 with a coupon of 3.75%.

In February, ASF issued €1 billion of bonds due to mature in February 2031 with a coupon of 1.375%.
Beginning of July, London Gatwick airport issued £300 million of bonds due to mature in June 2049 with a coupon of 2.875%.

Those transactions enabled the Group to extend the average maturity of its debt, increase its liquidity and diversify its funding sources and investor base.

At 30 June 2019, the Group’s long-term financial debt totalled €27.7 billion, with an average maturity of 8.3 years (6.4 years at 31 December 2018). The average interest rate on that debt in the first half of 2019 was 2.1% (2.5% in the first half of 2018).

 

IV. 2019 outlook maintained: another year of growth expected

VINCI confirms that it expects further growth in its revenue and net income in 2019.

In Concessions:

- passenger numbers at VINCI Airports should, on a constant structure basis, continue to rise, although at a slower pace than in 2018 because of the high base for comparison.

- traffic levels on VINCI Autoroutes’ networks should track economic activity in France, barring exceptional events.

 

In Contracting, strong order books suggest that all business lines will see a like-for-like increase in revenue. Contracting will also receive a boost from the full-year integration of recent acquisitions, mainly outside France. The focus will remain on margin improvement.

 

V. Interim dividend

A 2019 interim dividend of €0.79 per share, up 5.3% on last year’s interim dividend, will be paid in cash on 7 November 2019 (ex-date: 5 November 2019).

 

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This press release is available in French and English on VINCI’s website: www.vinci.com.

The slide presentation of the 2019 first-half results and the financial report for the first half of 2019 will be available on VINCI’s website: www.vinci.com

 

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APPENDIXES: see pdf version of press release

 

¹ Excluding concession subsidiaries’ revenue from works done by non-Group companies (see glossary).
² Including a €254 million impact from the first-time adoption of IFRS 16.
³ Figures at 100%. 2019 and 2018 figures including airport passenger numbers over the full period.
⁴ Eurovia's first-half loss at the Ebit level does not reflect its expected full-year performance.
⁵ After taking into account dilutive instruments.

 

About VINCI
VINCI is a global player in concessions, energy and construction, employing 280,000 people in more than 120 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, we are committed to operating in an environmentally, socially responsible and ethical manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. Based on that approach, VINCI’s ambition is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, partners and society in general.