Ferrovial’s profit surges, beats forecast as highway builder bets on US

MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish construction giant Ferrovial’s first-half profit nearly quadrupled as its toll highway business in the United States and Canada continued to deliver strong results, the company said on Tuesday. Net income reached 414 million euros (£448 million), up from 114 million euros reported a year ago, far above the average of analysts’ expectations of 208 million euros. The company that builds and manages motorways and airports concessions reported a 7.5% increase in revenues to 4.27 billion euros in the first half, also above the 4.1 billion euros forecast by analysts polled by LSEG.

CEO Ignacio Madridejos attributed the results to strong returns from U.S. express lanes, also highlighting increasing traffic levels at its airports, including London’s Heathrow, in which Ferrovial holds a large stake. ADVERTISEMENT Revenues in the toll business rose 25.2% to 595 million euros, driven by solid growth in North America, the company said.

Construction revenues rose almost 5% to 3.37 billion euros and the division ended June with a record order book worth nearly 16 billion, 49% of that amount in the United States and 22% in Poland. Ferrovial made its Nasdaq debut in May in a bid to boost its profile and attract more investors from the U.S. market, where it is seeking to expand its contracts in the southeast states and also around New York. The company plans to make 71% of its total investments for 2024 in this country.

(£1 = 0.9248 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Andrei Khalip)