The FCC Group's gross operating profit (EBITDA) grew by 15.4%, to €940.2 million, as a result of the increase in profitability achieved in the Water and Real Estate areas, with a margin on sales of 27.1% and 53.6%, respectively, as well as the increase in the Group's turnover, which was up by 13.9% in the first nine months of the year, to €5,542.1 million, due to increased activity in all business areas, mainly in Environment and Real Estate.

The business portfolio also reflects a positive performance. The incorporation of new contracts puts the portfolio at €39,849.2 million, an increase of 32% on December 2021, with new contracts being incorporated in all business areas, especially in the Construction activity.

The result attributable to the parent company was €358.3 million, 6.9% lower than at the end of the third quarter of 2021. This is mainly explained by the sale of various infrastructure concessions and Energy assets in the same last period last year, only partially offset by the exchange rate and by minority interest earnings.

Equity stood at €5,078.4 million, a growth of 14.4%.

Net financial debt stood at €3,547.6 million, 10% higher than in December 2021, largely explained by the acquisition of the end-to-end water cycle operator (GGU) in Georgia's capital city.

Operational and contracting milestones

Environment

In Spain, FCC Medio Ambiente has maintained a positive rate of growth with various awards: in Zaragoza for urban waste collection and street cleaning in the capital, for more than €618 million over the next 10 years; in Vigo for waste management and street cleaning for the next 10 years, extendable to 12, for €380 million; renewal of the street cleaning and waste collection contract with the renovation and operation of the light packaging sorting plant in Salamanca, with a portfolio of €231.6 million over the next 12 years; renewal of the urban sanitation contract in Gerona for 8 years for €107 million; extension for 8 years of the Badajoz City Council contract for street cleaning and waste collection, for €84 million and in Mijas the awarding of the street cleaning and USW service for 10 years for €80 million. 

Also in relation to Treatment, in March the joint venture in which FCC Medio Ambiente holds a 29% interest was awarded the contract for the management of the waste complex on the island of Tenerife, for an attributable amount of €107.7 million and with a contract term of 15 years, extendable for a further four years.

In the United Kingdom, the backlog of recycling reception and sorting centres was expanded to include a further nine centres in the county of Buckinghamshire, subject to a contract term of five years, extendable for a further five years, serving a population of over half a million inhabitants. The service, which began in April, will manage more than 60,000 tonnes of household waste per year and will help the company achieve its reuse and recovery targets, with the specific objective that the new waste sorting centres achieve at least 68% recovery of the total volume they receive.

Several new contracts have been awarded in the United States: in April, the renovation and operation of a municipal solid waste treatment environmental complex in Placer County (California), involving a portfolio of some USD 1.5 billion for a 10-year term and two possible five-year extensions. The complex, with a capacity of 650,000 tonnes per year, will be one of the largest plants of its kind in the world. 

In addition, last May it won the contracting for the residential collection of solid urban waste in the city of Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The contracting represents a portfolio of more than €300 million for a seven-year term with a possible extension for a further three years and in the same state the contract for the collection of municipal solid waste from the City of Palm Coast and Lake County has been awarded for a combined amount of €145 million.

Water

In February, the consortium led by FCC (45%) and comprising other international and Saudi groups was awarded the public tender for the management, operation and maintenance (MOM) contract for the integrated water cycle facilities in the southern regions of Assir, Jazan, Baha and Najran in Saudi Arabia. The Southern Cluster, whose water services will be managed by the consortium for a term of seven years, brings together four provinces and is home to a population of more than five million people in an area spanning more than 200,000 km2. The revenue backlog associated with this contract exceeds €108 million. 

In addition, at the beginning of September, another consortium led by FCC Aqualia (51%) together with local firms, won the contract for consultancy, operation and maintenance of the Northern Cluster, for 7 years and a portfolio of €88 million. The water management contracting covers four regions: Qassim, Hail, Al-Jouf and Northern Border; it has a population of three million people in an area equivalent to three quarters of Spain.

Renovation in Spain of the integral cycle service of Llucmajor for 20 years and €168 million, and also that of the city of Garrucha for a further €39 million and a term of 25 years.

Contract awarded for the operation, extension and rehabilitation of the aqueduct and sewerage services in Flandes (Colombia) for €77.5 million and a 20-year term.

Construction

In Spain, the contracting of a section of the platform of the Mediterranean rail corridor passing through Totana (Murcia) for €106.7 million stands out, together with the contracting last January of the work on the new Puertollano Hospital for €96 million. The hospital will have 50,000 square metres dedicated to health care and a further 30,000 square metres of parking. It is estimated that work will begin in the last quarter of the year and that the infrastructure could be completed in the second half of 2026.

FCC Industrial has won Lot 1 of the Madrid City Council's public lighting maintenance services contract for €25.5 million and a three-year term. 
In March, the consortium in which FCC Construcción holds a 50% interest was the first bidder for the construction of a suburban railway line in Toronto (Canada). The contract includes the design, construction, operation and maintenance of a commuter rail network in the metropolitan area. The project has a total budget of more than €4 billion, though notably the award and contract performance phase will be progressive based on the agreement reached between the parties. At 30 September, the amount included in the portfolio was €171 million.

FCC Construcción (35%), in consortium with Italian company Webuild (35%) and Korean company SK ecoplant (30%), has been awarded the design and construction of the Sotra Link project in Norway. The project involves the construction of the RV 555 Sotrasambandet motorway, which will link the island of Sotra in the province of Hordaland with the city of Bergen. Sotra Link is part of the Sotra Connection PPP project awarded by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). It is the largest road infrastructure contract in Norway's history and features an overall budget of around €1.23 billion, which will be implemented through a public-private partnership model.

Last June a consortium led by FCC Construcción won the contract to build the first tunnels for high-speed and freight railways, as well as the 28-kilometre-long subways in the new city of Neom (Saudi Arabia) for €734.5 million.

Last February, an amendment to the construction contract for the Maya Train was signed in Mexico to adjust the performance period and add a further €250 million to the value of the contract.

Cement

The parent of this division, CPV, has initiated an environmental collaboration project with the Saint-Gobain PAM España group, leader in the production and marketing of ductile iron piping. The project aims to achieve zero non-recyclable waste, following the Europe 2020 roadmap defined by the European Union, by recovering the cement sludge generated during the production process at the Saint-Gobain PAM facility located in Santander, and then converting it into energy to power the furnaces of one of the local factories (Mataporquera in Cantabria).

The factory in Alcalá de Guadaíra (Seville) has renewed its EMAS Environmental Management and Audit System registration for the thirteenth year. This accreditation certifies that the plant strictly complies with the controls contemplated in its Integrated Environmental Authorisation, so that no exceedance of the established emission limit values has been detected. In this context, it plans to invest €6 million to reduce its energy costs and carbon footprint by replacing the current coke fuel with alternative fuels at its clinker production sites.

The commitment to environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation is one of the Area's main objectives in the development of its activity. In this sense, the level of substitution of fossil fuels for alternative fuels is around 36% in all factories in Spain. 

Real Estate

On 20 June last, the parent real estate company, FCC Inmobiliaria, completed a partial voluntary public offer to acquire 24% of the share capital of Metrovacesa, S.A., offering a final consideration of €7.20 per share. The CNMV announced on 20 June 2022 that the offer was accepted by 11.47% of Metrovacesa's share capital.  

At the end of September, the Area had 341 units of homes sold pending delivery in the development and sales activity, compared to 174 units in the same period of the previous year.

The occupancy rate of properties in the property business closed the third quarter at over 94% in tertiary use and 100% in residential assets.