PARIS (Reuters) - French construction and concession firm Vinci (PA:SGEF) said sales in the first nine months of the year rose 11% to 34.9 billion euros (£30.1 billion) thanks to a solid performance from its airports and motorway concessions, and the firm confirmed its forecasts for higher revenues and profits.
Vinci, which bought a majority stake in Britain's Gatwick airport in December, said it had not seen any slowdown in its British business tied to Brexit uncertainties during the period.
A one percent traffic decline at Gatwick could be explained by Brexit uncertainties but also by other factors such as the collapse of travel company Thomas Cook, it said.
"In view of its strong performance in the first nine months of 2019, Vinci confirms that it expects full-year revenue and net income to be higher than in 2018," the statement said.
Third-quarter sales rose 12.4% to 13.1 billion euros on an actual basis and rose 6.3% on a like-for-like basis.
Vinci (PA:SGEF) has been expanding into faster-growing and more profitable concessions such as airports and motorways, as well as engineering projects for the energy industry, to counter weakness elsewhere in the construction sector.