Ferrovial increased adjusted EBITDA by 38.9% in 2024

Rhea-AI Summary

Ferrovial reported strong financial performance in 2024, with adjusted EBITDA increasing 38.9% to $1.5 billion and revenue growing 6.7% to $9.9 billion year-over-year. Net profit reached $3.5 billion, driven by asset rotation gains.

The company's toll roads division saw 19.6% revenue growth to $1.4 billion, with significant performance in North America. The 407 ETR in Canada experienced 4.8% traffic growth, while U.S. Express Lanes showed solid revenue per transaction increases, with I-66 Express leading at 33.2% growth.

The Construction division achieved a record order book of $17.3 billion, with revenue rising 3.8% to $7.8 billion. The adjusted EBIT margin reached 3.9%, exceeding the 3.5% target. Notable milestones included Ferrovial's Nasdaq listing in May 2024 and maintaining strong liquidity of $5.5 billion with consolidated net debt of -$1.9 billion.

Positive

• EBITDA increased 38.9% to $1.5 billion
• Revenue grew 6.7% to $9.9 billion
• Net profit reached $3.5 billion
• Toll roads revenue up 19.6% to $1.4 billion
• Construction division exceeded profitability target with 3.9% EBIT margin
• Record construction order book at $17.3 billion
• Strong liquidity position of $5.5 billion
• Received $1,024 million in infrastructure dividends

Negative

• NTE traffic declined 2.2% due to construction works

Insights

Financial Analyst

Ferrovial's 38.9% year-over-year EBITDA growth to $1.5 billion demonstrates exceptional operational performance across its infrastructure portfolio. The $3.5 billion net profit reflects both strong operations and successful asset rotations, including the $2.2 billion Heathrow divestment. What's particularly impressive is the $1.024 billion in infrastructure dividends received, highlighting the maturation of key assets.

The North American toll road portfolio shows remarkable strength with significant revenue-per-transaction growth: 33.2% on I-66 Express and 12.5% on NTE 35W. The milestone first-time dividends from I-66 ($96 million) and I-77 ($222 million) signal these assets have reached steady-state operations, transforming from capital-consuming to cash-generating investments.

The Construction division's 3.9% EBIT margin exceeds their 3.5% target – an impressive achievement in a sector where margins are typically tight. With a record $17.3 billion order book, 49% concentrated in North America, this provides excellent revenue visibility.

Ferrovial's balance sheet strength is exceptional, with $5.5 billion in liquidity and negative net debt of $1.9 billion. This financial firepower positions them advantageously for the pipeline of North American infrastructure opportunities mentioned, potentially enabling them to invest without significant leverage constraints despite the higher rate environment.

Infrastructure Investment Specialist

Ferrovial's Nasdaq listing in May 2024 represents a strategic inflection point in its evolution from a European constructor to a global infrastructure developer and operator. This dual-hemisphere listing structure optimizes their access to capital markets while positioning them closer to their growth focus in North America, where 49% of their construction order book now resides.

Their active portfolio management approach deserves attention. Rather than simply holding assets indefinitely, Ferrovial demonstrates sophisticated capital recycling – divesting mature assets like Heathrow at $2.2 billion while redeploying capital toward emerging opportunities like IRB Infrastructure Trust in India. This creates a balanced portfolio across asset life stages.

The performance of their managed lanes assets in North America reveals the powerful economics of this toll road model. Growth in revenue per transaction (33.2% on I-66, 12.5% on NTE 35W) demonstrates the pricing power inherent in congestion-relief infrastructure. The dividend progression from these assets ($96 million from I-66, $222 million from I-77, $111 million from NTE) validates their capital allocation strategy over the past decade.

With shortlisted bids for I-285 East Express Lanes in Atlanta and qualification requests for I-24 in Tennessee, Ferrovial appears positioned to expand its toll road portfolio in high-growth southeastern markets. Their -$1.9 billion net debt position provides substantial flexibility to pursue these opportunities without dilutive equity raises or excessive leverage.

Company completes an outstanding year, with strong operating performance and assets rotation

• Toll roads in North America experience significant growth in revenue per transaction
  
  
• Construction reports record order book and exceeds profitability target for the year

AMSTERDAM, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Ferrovial, a leading global infrastructure company, reported an adjusted EBITDA of $1.5 billion in 2024, a 38.9% increase year over year in like-for-like terms boosted by robust performance in all business areas, while revenue amounted to $9.9 billion, a 6.7% growth on a like-for-like basis. Net profit amounted to $3.5 billion in 2024, thanks to capital gains from assets rotation.

"2024 was a pivotal year for Ferrovial, marked by the start of trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange. We reported strong financial results, supported by a solid performance across business units. Our infrastructure assets in North America continued growing significantly, delivering strong dividends. In addition, the construction business improved profitability, surpassing the target for the year and reporting a record order book," said Ignacio Madridejos, Ferrovial CEO. "Looking ahead, we see an attractive pipeline of assets in North America, where Ferrovial is well positioned to continue to develop complex, essential infrastructure projects that drive progress and improve the connectivity of a fast-moving world."

As part of Ferrovial's strategy to keep growing in North America, the company was shortlisted for bidding on the I-285 East Express Lanes in Atlanta and has submitted the Request for qualification (RFQ) for the I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes project in Tennessee, and foresees additional potential opportunities in Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte and Alexandria.

Ferrovial closed 2024 in a solid financial position, with liquidity of $5.5 billion and consolidated net debt of -$1.9 billion, excluding infrastructure projects in both cases. During the year, the company received $1,024 million in dividends from infrastructure assets and registered the proceeds from the divestments in Heathrow ($2.2 billion) and IRB Infrastructure Developers ($228 million), among others, as well as the vendor loan in relation to the Amey divestment ($190 million). These inflows were allocated to growth investments, including the acquisition of 24% of IRB Infrastructure Trust and equity injections in JFK's New Terminal One, as well as to shareholders distributions and share buybacks.

Operating results

The Toll roads division recorded a 19.6% increase in revenue in like-for-like terms to $1.4 billion as a result of solid growth in North America. Adjusted EBITDA improved by 19.5% in like-for-like terms to $993 million.

Traffic grew by 4.8% on 407 ETR in Canada, supported by an increase in mobility, impact from construction activities on highway 401, fewer winter weather events and more promotional offers to reduce congestion in the corridor during peak hours, while revenue rose 14% to CAD 1.7 billion. Ferrovial received a $347 million dividend from the asset in 2024.

The Express Lanes in the U.S. experienced solid growth in revenue per transaction during the period. Thus, I-66 Express (Virginia) registered a 33.2% increase, NTE 35W (Texas) 12.5%, I-77 Express (North Carolina) 11.7%, LBJ Express (Texas) 8.8% and NTE (Texas) 6%. With regards to traffic, largest increases were registered on NTE 35W (+22.3%), thanks to the opening of Segment 3C in June 2023, and on I-66 Express (+11.1%). NTE saw a 2.2% decline due to construction works to increase capacity in the corridor.

I-66 and I-77 Express distributed dividends for the first time, and Ferrovial received $96 million and $222 million, respectively. In addition, the company received $111 million from NTE, $94 million from NTE 35W and $58 million from LBJ in 2024.

The Construction division ended the year with a record order book of $17.3 billion, with North America accounting for 49%, Poland 25% and Spain 14%. Revenue amounted to $7.8 billion, an increase of 3.8% on a like-for-like basis. The adjusted EBIT stood at $307 million, while adjusted EBIT margin reached 3.9%, above the 3.5% goal set for the year

In the Airports division, Dalaman welcomed 5.6 million passengers in 2024, marking a 7.7% gain from a year earlier. This growth was driven by expanded airline capacity, the launch of new routes to the UK and other European countries, and a rise in domestic traffic.

The New Terminal One (NTO) at JFK International Airport kept progressing within budget and on schedule. NTO has reached 16 agreements with airlines, including contracts executed with ten companies, such as Air France, KLM and SAS, as well as six letters of intention with international carriers, like Turkish Airlines and Air China. In addition, it successfully concluded a $2.55 billion green bond issuance in June.

Energy, the division established at the beginning of last year, reported $292 million in revenues and $2.2 million in adjusted EBITDA.

Main milestones in 2024

After more than 20 years of operations in the U.S., Ferrovial's shares began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on May 9th, a significant milestone in the company's internationalization process and its commitment to grow in North America. With this move, Ferrovial trades simultaneously on the Spanish, Dutch and U.S. stock markets.

During the year, Ferrovial acquired a 24% stake in IRB Infrastructure Trust in India, an investment vehicle that holds a portfolio of 14 toll road concessions in operations in the country and another one under construction.

Ferrovial participates in the consortium that was awarded Lima's Peripheral Ring Road (Peru), a 34.8-kilometer highway to improve the connection between Lima and Callao and benefit more than 4.5 million people.

As part of its asset rotation strategy, Ferrovial sold a 5% stake in IRB Infrastructure Developers and completed the sale of its remaining 24.78% participation in Serveo. Furthermore, the company closed the sale of a 19.75% stake in Heathrow Airport for GBP1.7 billion and announced the sale of its share in AGS airport (completed in the first quarter of 2025).

In 2024, Ferrovial consolidated its position as the highest ranked company in Europe and the second worldwide in the Construction and Engineering sector, according to the Dow Jones Best in Class Index (former Dow Jones Sustainability Index).

Conference call information

Ferrovial will host a conference call on February 28 at 15:00 CET / 09:00 a.m. ET to discuss FY24 financial results. To access the earnings call, click here or visit the Investor Relations section of the company's website at https://ferrovial.com/ir-shareholders

KEY FIGURES

(Million dollar)

	2024	2023	Change1/2
Revenue	9,895	9,210	6.7 %
Adjusted EBITDA2	1,452	1,072	38.9 %
Adjusted EBIT2	975	638	57.8 %
Net profit	3,503	682
	2024	2023
Consolidated net debt2	6,273	6,188
Net debt, excluding infrastructure projects2	-1,857	-1,160
			Change1
Construction order book1/2	17,340	15,709	7.5 %

(1) In like-for-like terms  (2) Non-IFRS financial measure. For the definition and reconciliation to the most directly comparable IFRS measure, see the Alternative Performance Measures appendix to the 2024 Integrated Annual Report.

About Ferrovial

Ferrovial is one of the world's leading infrastructure companies. The Company operates in more than 15 countries and has a workforce of over 25,000 worldwide. Ferrovial is triple listed on Euronext Amsterdam, the Spanish Stock Exchanges and Nasdaq and is a member of Spain's blue-chip IBEX 35 index. It is also included in globally recognized sustainability indices such as the Dow Jones Best in Class Index (former Dow Jones Sustainability Index), and all its operations are conducted in compliance with the principles of the UN Global Compact, which the Company adopted in 2002.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Any express or implied statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding estimates and projections provided by the Company and certain other sources with respect to the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans, and objectives of management for future operations, expectations surrounding future shareholder distributions, certain air traffic and population estimates, as well as statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "forecast," "foresee," "estimate," "may," "should," "target," "anticipate" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature, or the negative of these terms or other similar expressions, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Such statements may reflect various assumptions by the Company concerning anticipated results and are subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, and known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond the Company's control and may be impossible to predict. Any forecast made or contained herein, and actual results, will likely vary and those variations may be material. The Company makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such statements, expectations, estimates and projections contained in this press release or that any forecast made or contained herein will be achieved. Risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ include, without limitation: risks related to our diverse geographical operations and Business Divisions; risks related to our acquisitions, divestments and other strategic transactions that we may undertake and considering that our business is derived from a small number of projects; the impact of competitive pressures in our industry and pricing, including the costs of and lack of certainty in winning competitive tender processes; general economic and political conditions and events and the impact they may have on us; our ability to obtain adequate financing in the future as needed; our ability to maintain compliance with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq Global Select Market, Euronext Amsterdam and the Spanish Stock Exchanges; lawsuits and other claims by third parties or investigations by various regulatory agencies that we may be subject to; impact of any changes in existing or future tax regimes or regulations; risks specific to our securities, including the payment of future dividends, which will depend on our financial condition and results of operations, and the liquidity of our shares as a consequence of the multiple listings in different jurisdictions; risks related to increased digitalization and to cybersecurity threats; the impacts of accidents or other incidents at our project sites and facilities; physical and transitional risks in connection with the impacts of climate change; risks related to increased scrutiny and changing expectations in connection with sustainability and ESG matters; risks related to the adequacy or existence of our insurance coverage and any non-recoverable losses; risk associated with the international nature of our business and operations; our reliance on and ability to locate, select, monitor, and manage subcontractors and service providers; our legal and regulatory risks given that we operate in highly regulated environments and may be subject to changes in regulations; risks related to our holding company structure and from our joint venture and partnership operations; and the other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") which is available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. We disclaim any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law. Forward-looking statements in this press release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions contained in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by relevant safe harbor provisions for forward-looking statements (or their equivalent) of any applicable jurisdiction.

In addition, certain industry data and information contained in this press release has been derived from industry sources. The Company has not undertaken any independent investigation to confirm the accuracy or completeness of such data and information, some of which may be based on estimates and subjective judgments. Accordingly, the Company makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of such data and information.

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SOURCE Ferrovial

FAQ

What was Ferrovial's (FER) EBITDA growth in 2024?

Ferrovial's adjusted EBITDA grew 38.9% to $1.5 billion in 2024.

How much revenue did Ferrovial's toll roads division generate in 2024?

The toll roads division generated $1.4 billion in revenue, a 19.6% increase year-over-year.

What was the value of Ferrovial's construction order book in 2024?

The construction division reported a record order book of $17.3 billion.

When did Ferrovial begin trading on Nasdaq in 2024?

Ferrovial began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange on May 9th, 2024.

How much did Ferrovial receive in infrastructure asset dividends in 2024?

Ferrovial received $1,024 million in dividends from infrastructure assets in 2024.