OHLA considers further divestments after losing almost 100 million euros in 2022
OHLA lost 96.8 million euros in 2022, compared to gains of 5.9 million a year earlier, affected by the adjustment in the value of the Canalejas real estate project in Madrid, the value of bonds and the exchange rate, which had a combined impact of 80 million.
For 2023, the company is focusing on new divestments of non-strategic assets, such as services, its 25% stake in the Montreal hospital centre (CHUM) or the 50% it holds in Canalejas, worth 127.5 million. In fact, it does not expect any further impairment of Canalejas this year after the 34.4 million in 2022.
With these divestments, the group is seeking to reduce leverage and lay the foundations for profitability.
At the end of the year, sales of the company, controlled by the Mexican Amodio brothers, totalled 3,259.7 million, a 17.3% increase, and more than 70% were made abroad, according to the accounts sent to the National Securities Market Commission (CNMV).
By geography, Europe accounted for 47.3% of sales, North America 35.4% and Latin America 16.4%.
Gross operating profit (ebitda) reached 114.1 million, 25% higher than in 2021.
With all this, the company has met the objectives set, which were to reach an ebitda of 110 million in 2022 and to exceed 3,000 million in revenues.
SECOND DIVESTMENT PLAN
The company continues to focus on reducing debt and, with this objective in mind, is seeking to accelerate divestments with a second plan to be implemented from 2023-2024, which will extend to all assets that are not strategic for the company, i.e. that do not affect either the construction or concessions business.
The company’s objective is to reduce debt by half and bring the debt-to-EBITDA ratio below two times and lower it by around 200 million.
Once the company completes these sales in the medium term, it will be in a position to enter into profit, and to rethink the payment of the dividend, although it does not have a specific date for this.
THE PORTFOLIO, AT ITS HIGHEST SINCE 2015, AND A NEW CONCESSION IN CHILEOHLA’s backlog stood at 7,034.0 million, the best record since 2015, and 21.1% more than in 2021.
On the other hand, it closed 2022 with a short-term order intake of 4,273.7 million, 15.6% higher than in 2021 and the highest figure since 2014. Thus, the group also achieved the target it had set for 2022 of placing order intake above 3,500 million.
The company recently signed a new concession. It is the Cancer Institute in Chile for 300 million.
BY BUSINESS AREA
In Construction, its order book reached 5,807.3 million, a 21.1 % increase. Sales grew by 21.3% to 2,709.3 million and EBITDA increased by 28.7% to 129.3 million.
Services, on the other hand, posted revenues of 394.3 million in 2022, up 9.1%, but its ebitda fell by 27.2% to 11.5 million.
The Industrial division had a turnover of 130.6 million, down 21.1%, and an ebitda of 4.4 million.
The company is involved in several lawsuits, such as the Cider medical centre in Qatar; an arbitration against Kuwait; against Qatar Railways for 357.7 million; the claim for 200 million against the Algerian railway agency; the conflict with Aleática; or those related to the Airport Axis or the Navalcarnero train, in Madrid.
