By Victor Goury-Laffont
(Reuters) -French infrastructure group Vinci upgraded its full-year free cash flow guidance, pointing to a high level of liquidity, a year-on-year decline in financial debt and a record high order book.
The company now expects free cash flow of at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.74 billion) for 2023, against a previous estimate of between 4 billion and 4.5 billion euros.
Vinci's order book reached 63.3 billion euros at Sept. 30, a record high level according to the company. The group's net financial debt stood at 18.6 billion euros at the end of the nine-month period, down from 20.1 billion euros a year ago.
The French 2024 budget, currently being discussed in parliament, includes a tax on the transport sector which would apply to both the Vinci-owned Lyon–Saint-Exupéry Airport and the group's subsidiaries operating French motorways via state concessions.
"We intend to use all the available avenues to appeal," head of investor relations Grégoire Thibault said in a call with analysts, adding "higher taxes unavoidably mean higher tolls."
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last month that highway operators would not be allowed to pass on the tax to clients. The group said last month the tax would represent a 260 million-euro surcharge based on its 2022 figures.
Vinci also updated its full-year forecasts for its concessions segment, which includes the operation of highways and airports, including London's Gatwick.
The group sees traffic levels on its highways rising slightly year-on-year, up from its previous evaluation that levels would remain stable and said passenger numbers in airports during the fourth quarter should be close to pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
The number of travellers at Vinci Airports, remained 9.1% below pre-pandemic levels in the first-half of the year and 2.8% under in the third quarter.
($1 = 0.9498 euros)