OHLA earns 24.5 million euros in 2021 and closes a great transformational year
OHLA, a renovated company. The company has completed its refinancing and capitalization transaction on June 28, 2021 and has announced its new corporate brand on July 6.
Best EBITDA level reached since 2016. Gross operating results stood at 91.2 million euros, 35.1% more than in 2020, the best figure since 2016.
Order book boosted by the addition of a new concession. The order book stands at 5,807.5 million euros, 17.0% more than the previous year, adding a new concession in Chile.
Strengthened liquidity. The total recourse liquidity position has amounted to 841.4 million euros.
Short-term asset rotation policy. The company has culminated the process of divestment of non-core assets aimed to reducing indebtedness with the collections from Hospital de Toledo, Aguas de Navarra and Old War Office.
Reinforcement of own funds. The company reinforces its equity by nearly 180 million euros.
Firm indebtedness reduction. OHLA has reduced its leverage in 2021 by more than 30% registering 523.5 million euros in 2021. By March 2022, leverage will be below 425 million and the company will maintain its target to continue reducing it.
OHLA concludes 2021 with very positive results. The year, a transformational one for the company, has meant its return to profit after five years of losses. Specifically, the company has registered Net Attributable results of 24.5 million euros, compared to losses of 151.2 million in 2020.
The company has reached sales of 2,778.6 million euros in 2021, within the expected range, and EBITDA has registered 91.2 million euros, 35.1% more than in 2020. This figure, the best since 2016, is above of the estimated 80 million. Regarding gross operating results, it is worth highlighting the good performance of the margin of the Construction activity, 4.5%, compared to 2.6% in 2020.
In turn, total order intake, whose closing estimate for 2021 was more than 3,000 million euros, ended the year at nearly 3,700 million, 33.9% more than in 2021, which represents its highest order intake for the last five years.
The good performance in order intake has boosted the total order book to 5,807.5 million euros, 17% more than in 2020. The United States represents 37.2%, Europe 36.4% and Latin America 25.8%. In the latter region, the company was awarded a concession in Chile for the construction and maintenance of four hospitals in the Biobío region.
Furthermore, during the year, the company was awarded outstanding projects in the US, such as the I-5 freeway enhancements in Los Angeles, its largest contract since 2017 for 321 million euros. In this country, the prestigious publication ENR has named the company Contractor of the Year in California and its participation in the Patsaouras Plaza Busway Station project in Los Angeles, Best Regional Project in the Transportation category.
In Latin America, the company obtained several projects for the design and construction of river defenses in Peru, for a total of 235 million euros. And in Europe, it was awarded the Méndez Álvaro Campus, for 86.5 million euros. It will be the largest office complex built in Madrid within the M-30 ring road. Advanced sustainability and energy efficiency criteria will be applied in its construction, furthering the company’s commitment to sustainable construction.
Liquidity and cash generation
OHLA has ended 2021 with a total recourse liquidity position of 841.4 million euros. This liquidity position includes 135.6 million euros from the collection of the Cemonasa loan following the agreement reached with the Community of Madrid in December 2021.
Reduction of indebtedness
OHLA has ended 2021 with gross financial indebtedness of 523.5 million euros, 30.1% less than in 2020.
Subsequent to 2021, the company announced a further reduction of its leverage by nearly 100 million, after applying the funds from its subsidiary Cemonasa to the total repayment of the ICO-guaranteed loan, with a principal amount of 54.5 million euros, and the launch of a bond repurchase offer for 43.2 million. Thus, in March 2022, this indebtedness will be below 425 million euros.
Overall, the company will have reduced its leverage by around 275 million euros between the actions carried out in 2021 and the first months of 2022.
OHLA concludes 2021 with results that represent a significant turning point. The company, which has undergone a major transformation process from an operational, financial and strategic point of view in recent years, has returned to profit, recording the best EBITDA since 2016, achieving its highest order intake and ending the year with a portfolio of more than 5,800 million euros. In terms of the balance sheet, it has strengthened its equity by nearly 180 million and has achieved a liquidity of 842.3 million, significantly reducing its indebtedness.
