Recurrent net profit was €430m but an impairment charge arising from its utility business Iberdrola accounted for the overall net loss.
Otherwise, the company reported a more positive first half of the year. The sales volume, backlog and operating results were the highest ever accounted in the group in the first semester.
The turnover of Grupo ACS in the first half of 2012 amounted to €18.833bn, 98.8% more than the previous year. International sales now account for 81.3% of total, amounting to €15.305bn. In comparable terms, the international growth was 15.3%, while activity in Spain has fallen by 21.5% down to €3,528m.
Sales by geographic area were distributed evenly between Europe, America and Asia Pacific in line with the group's diversification strategy. Total backlog in June 2012 amounted to €70.562bn, with a 9% growth.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) grew by 75.9% to €1.578bn, with a margin on sales of 8.4% Meanwhile EBIT increased by 27.9% to €831 million, with a sales margin of 4.4%.
The company said that results of the semester are strongly affected by the macro situation and the capital markets evolution, which led the group to restructure of its Iberdrola investment.
Recurrent net profit of the semester, which does not include extraordinary results of any kind, accounted for €430 million, showing a decrease of a 15.4%. This was due to the lower contribution of construction activity and the disposals of some assets in the environmental sector.
ACS’s sale of 3.7% of its Iberdrola stake in April – carried out to reduce debt - has accounted for a net capital loss of €599m. The Abertis 10% sale, which also took place in April, produced net capital gains of €193m. Net capital gains after the disposal of other assets accounted for €73 million.
An impairment test has been carried out on Iberdrola investment, determining a fair value of €5.6 per share. According to accounting principles, a net adjustment of value has been accounted for €962 million.
Cash flows from the operating activities have been affected by Hochtief, impacted by a one-off deterioration of its working capital from Leighton.
Construction achieved sales of €14.348bn, 7.8% more than in the first half of 2011 in comparable terms, including Hochtief sales in both periods.
International construction has grown substantially to €13.098bn, a figure that now represents 91.3% of total turnover of the activity.
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