Ferrovial first-half profit more than doubles, helped by US road revenue

MADRID (Reuters) – Infrastructure giant Ferrovial on Thursday reported a first-half net profit of 114 million euros ($125 million), more than double what it netted a year ago, helped by improving revenue from its motorway operations in North America.

Revenue from highways rose 38% to 492 million euros, mainly on the back of its toll road concessions in the United States and Canada. Managed lanes in Texas also accounted for most of the 342 million euros in dividends the company received from its assets in the period.

The builder of highways, airports, metro lines and the largest shareholder in London Heathrow Airport said its total revenue rose 12.2% to 3.94 billion euros, including 3.25 billion from the construction business, which includes roads.

As international travel recovered after the pandemic, Heathrow, Britain’s largest airport, posted a 36% revenue increase to 1.7 billion euros in the first half.

During the period Ferrovial moved its holding company to the Netherlands as part of efforts to become listed in the United States, one of its key markets.

More than two-thirds of Ferrovial’s income comes from outside Spain.

The group is focusing its investments on North America in the short term, as the potential access to U.S. government funding for energy transition and other subsidies under the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act influenced the decision to move the holding company and seek to be listed in the U.S. during the year.

($1 = 0.9093 euro)