MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish construction firm Sacyr said its net profit in the first nine months of the year rose 36% as expected by analysts, thanks to its inflation-linked toll road businesses.
Sacyr posted a 92.4 million euros ($98.18 million), during the period, while its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA), a measure of operating profitability, grew 12% to 980 million euros.
Its highway concessions contracts, a business the company seeks to turn into its core activity, accounted for 90% of its EBITDA.
Sacyr, one of the world's largest operators of transport infrastructure, booked revenues of 3.24 billion euros in the first nine months of the year, down from 3.46 billion euros a year ago. The indicators were in line with analyst expectations.
Sacyr said the value of its concession assets will reach 3.2 billion euros by December 2023.
Motorways in several Latin American countries, in the United States and Canada and in Italy, will supply the construction group with cash flow for the next 25 years, it said. Most of Sacyr's concession contracts are tied to inflation.
Sacyr has agreed earlier this year to sell its cleaning service unit Sacyr Facilities businesses and its waste management unit Valoriza.
The Valoriza sale to Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Infrastructure Partners was completed by the end of October and Sacyr Facilities deal will be finalised before the end of this year.
The infrastructure company said its used the proceeds of the asset sales to reduce its debts and focus on its concession business.
($1 = 0.9412 euros)