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The increase in turnover to 14,850 was due mainly to road operation and building engineering activities. The order intake for engineering was €839m, up 15% compared with 2017. Nearly 8,500 of the members of staff are employed in engineering. Some 4,300 of Egis’ workforce are in France.
There was also a substantial rise in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), which grew to €89m from €21m on 2017.
“In 2018, our Group recorded an excellent economic performance, with our increase in turnover driven by the dynamism of our road operation and building engineering activities,” said chairman and CEO Nicolas Jachiet.
He added: “The combined efforts of our different business units helped to deliver a strong increase in our operating profits and our distributable net profit (excluding capital gains). Our solid financial position will enable us to look confidently towards a new phase of our development with high ambitions for growth.”
The distributable net profit (excluding capital gains) was €21.9m, up €13.7m on 2017 thanks to a strong increase in engineering profits.
Most of the growth in turnover can be attributed to road operation and fixed operating equipment activities and to building engineering. The integration of Ocacsa - a Mexican company specialising in the operation of toll-operated road infrastructure acquired at the end of 2017 – enabled Egis to subsequently win a major road operation project in Mexico.
Another key contract was the takeover of operations on the M40 motorway in the West Midlands region of the UK.
In addition, Egis’s acquisition at the end of 2017 of 10 Design, an architecture and master planning consultancy based in Hong Kong, helped to reinforce its presence in Southeast Asia.
Turnover in engineering, unchanged on 2017, amounted to €807m including 30% in rail, 25% in buildings and 18% in roads (excluding operation).
Turnover in project structuring and operation recorded a 29% increase, driven by the historical markets of road and airport operation.
The order intake for engineering amounted to €839m, an increase of 15% in comparison to 2017. This represents more than one year of engineering turnover. The order book represents nearly 20 months of turnover, an increase on last year.
International business accounted for 63% of the Group’s total business activity. While business was slower this year in the Middle East due to the drop in oil prices, it expanded in Europe, Asia and particularly in Latin America, specifically in Mexico thanks to the win of the Golfo Centro operating concession and the delivery of the highway’s fixed operating equipment.
In engineering, 46% of business was generated in France, the same proportion as in 2017.
The group made several acquisitions in 2018: technical design consultancy Plantier, economic consultancy Michel Frustié and EXYZT, a company specialising in street parking enforcement.
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