Obrascón Huarte Lain (OHLA) H1 2024 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Sales rose 21.8% year-over-year to EUR 1.7 billion, driven by strong growth in Construction (+16.5%) and Industrial (+94.9%) divisions.

• EBITDA increased 13.2% to EUR 57.5 million, with margin at 3.3%; EBIT up 37.9% to EUR 19.3 million.

• Order intake for the first semester was EUR 2.5 billion, a 62.4% increase from the same period in 2023, with the order book at EUR 8.2 billion (+5.8% vs. 2023 year-end).

• Attributable net loss of EUR 34.2 million, compared to a EUR 0.6 million profit in 1H23, mainly due to negative financial results and exchange differences.

• Strategic divestment of Services activity and sale of CHUM announced; EUR 100 million capital increase approved.

Financial highlights

• Construction sales: EUR 1.5 billion (+16.5%); Industrial sales: EUR 176.2 million (+94.9%).

• Construction EBITDA: EUR 64.5 million (+5.0%); Industrial EBITDA: EUR 7.5 million (+127.3%).

• Net debt reduced to EUR 145.1 million from EUR 292.3 million at 2023 year-end.

• Cash generation in Q2 2024 was EUR 40.5 million, with year-to-date cash consumption at EUR 128.7 million.

• Total liquidity at EUR 672.0 million, recourse liquidity at EUR 669.2 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Management confirms alignment with the business plan and maintains 2024 guidance, expecting cash generation and profitability at year-end to be similar to 2023.

• Project mix and new awards expected to support margin improvement in H2.

• Asset rotation and deleveraging remain top priorities, with ongoing efforts to sell non-core assets and the services division.