(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) – The first half-year without Aspi closes with growth for Atlantia, with slightly better than expected results and confirmed targets and the stock in the spotlight on the FTSE MIB in Piazza Affari.
For the holding controlled by the Benettons, which comes from a long negotiation precisely for the sale of Autostrade to the Cdp-Fondo consortium, it was a key step: the future, in fact, already drawn by the guidelines illustrated by the CEO Carlo Bertazzo to the market, evidently speaks of a strategic recalibration that will be centered, among other things, on sustainable mobility. A future in which the numbers of the first Italian concessionaire will disappear and which, in terms of size, have actually brought Atlantia back to 2018, that is, before it took over Abertis together with Florentino Perez, becoming the first infrastructure operator in the world.
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The data yesterday, as mentioned, were the first in which the contribution of Aspi was not calculated in terms of turnover and margins, even if the actual closing of the operation will most likely take place in 2021.
Revenues were equal to 2.8 billion against expectations of 2.7, while the mol was 1.7 billion against expectations of 1.68. The results, for Equita, are “slightly better than expected”. Aspi was included in Discontinued Operations, while Abertis’ numbers were already known (EBITDA + 40% to 1.55 billion, thanks to all the positive countries and the consolidation of Mexico and the USA). Motorways in Latin America are positive (+ 15% to 181 million), while Adr’s EBITDA worsens from 44 to -32 million (expectations were -61 million) due to the drop in traffic (-58%). The net debt of 28.2 billion (30.6 billion without financial receivables) is higher than estimates.
“The holding’s debt drops to 2.6 billion – underlines Equita – which we estimate will become a net cash of more than 5 billion with the sale of Aspi”. Estimates are confirmed, with motorway traffic expected to drop by 10% and that of airports by 70%. Revenues in 2021 are expected at 5.7 billion. “The equity story is linked to the re-investment of cash, the support of Abertis as well as the resumption of traffic in Adr and Abertis and the regulatory risk”, say the analysts. The dividend policy ensures a yield of 4.9%, “well above the peers (3%)”, underlines Equita. “Considering the interim dividend that will be paid in the second half of 2022 and above all the buyback of 1/2 billion (Edition will not join), the company will return approximately 15-25% of the investment at current prices to minority shareholders in 2022”, conclude the analysts.