Revenue was up 7% to €8.166bn and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 0.8% to €934m.
The construction division's revenue in 2013 was €4.064bn, a decline of 6.1%. Nevertheless, profitability increased, as EBITDA rose by 1.8% to €343m due to improved margins on international projects.
The trend of previous years was maintained: cutbacks in the Spanish market as a result of the 81% decline in public procurement since 2007. The reduction in activity in Spain was offset by other markets, particularly the United States. As a result, international business accounts for 76% of the construction division's total revenues.
The growing importance of international contracts was also visible in the construction backlog: of the total €7.867bn euro, €5.539bn - 70% - relates to international contracts. Notable new projects include the North Tarrant Expressway extension in Texas, toll roads in Oman and Colombia, the M8 in the UK, a cable-stayed bridge in Ontario and the construction of a railway line in Poland. These come on top of existing contracts such as Crossrail in London and an extension of the 407 ETR highway in Toronto.
The company ended the year with a combined services and construction backlog of €25.616bn, a record high.
The volume of acquisitions exceeded divestments in 2013 for the first time in five years.
Ferrovial reported that its two main assets, the 407 ETR highway in Canada and Heathrow Airport, performed very well: both increased EBITDA, by 9.3% and 19%, respectively in local currency terms, due to higher tariffs, an increase in traffic, and more efficient management.
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