Abengoa Presents its Financial Results for 2012

SEVILLE, Spain, Feb. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

• Abengoa recorded 2012 revenues of €7,783 million and EBITDA of €1,246 million, representing an increase of 10% and 13% respectively.
• Corporate leverage was 3.2x and liquidity position was €3,451 million.
• Dividend of 0.072 €/share to be approved by shareholders meeting.
• USA becomes the first market in term of revenues.

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B), the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, recorded revenues of €7,783 million in 2012, an increase of 10% compared to the previous year, while EBITDA grew by 13% to €1,246 million. Profit after tax fell by 51%, ending the year at €125 million, mainly due to the effect of discontinued activities in the figure reported for 2011.

In 2012, Abengoa generated cash flow of €443 million from its operations. Its corporate net debt ratio stood at 3.2x, while its total debt ratio (including non-recourse debt) closed at 6.6x. Excluding pre-operational debt, which is the debt financing assets that still do not generate EBITDA, the corporate net debt ratio was 0.8x and the total debt ratio was 3.2x.

This year Abengoa has brought seven concession assets into operation, contributing €83 million to EBITDA during the year (€105 million annualized). The company has continued to implement its investment plan, allocating €997 million in corporate funding for new projects, bringing its liquidity position at the end of the period to €3,451 million.

Abengoa's geographical diversification in new markets continues to be one of the key factors behind its sustained growth. The company's international activities account for 75% of total revenues, of which 26% comes from the USA, 26% from Latin America, 15% from the rest of Europe and 7% from Asia and Africa. For the first time in Abengoa's history, the USA has become the leading region in terms of revenues thanks to the company's diversification efforts over the last ten years.

Based on the results obtained, the Board of Directors has proposed a dividend of €0.072 per share, which represents a payout ratio of 31%.

Manuel Sanchez Ortega, CEO of Abengoa, expressed his satisfaction at "being able to present today a good set of results for Abengoa, especially taking into account the extremely complex global economic situation and the regulatory difficulties that we have had to face in Spain in our solar segment. On top of this we have seen the worst drought in the USA in 60 years, severely impacting the margins in our ethanol business. All in all, once again we have demonstrated a strong delivery in the toughest environment in decades, delivering anticipated results, bringing into operation new assets and new geographies to our footprint, proving ourselves capable of protecting our liquidity and continuing to develop our technology plans."

Results by segment

Revenues in the engineering and construction segment, including the results from technology activities, increased by 19% to €4,512 million. EBITDA also increased, rising by 36% to €724 million, with margins of 16% compared to 14% the previous year. The engineering and construction division was awarded new contracts worth €3,584 million, bringing the backlog to €6,679 million on December 31, 2012, with a pipeline of commercial opportunities worth around €88,054 million.

Revenues in the concession-type infrastructures area, which primarily includes electricity generation and transmission, rose by 11% to €473 million, with an EBITDA margin of 65%. The growth in this segment comes from the seven new plants that were brought into operation during 2012. The equity invested in concession assets at the end of the year was €2,845 million. The scheduled investment plan will require an additional €856 million, which is expected to add €564 million in annualized EBITDA once all the assets are operational by 2015.

Revenues in the industrial production area, which includes the industrial recycling and bioenergy businesses, decreased by 2% to €2,798 million, while EBITDA for this segment fell by 21% to €215 million. The results of this segment have been affected by the weak performance of bioenergy margins which went from 7% in 2011 to 4% in 2012, primarily driven by lower gasoline consumption in the countries where the company operates and by adverse weather in the first few months of the year in the USA and Brazil, driving grain prices up to historic levels in decades. Conversely, both revenues and EBITDA in the industrial recycling activity have grown, with stable margins at around 19%. This area will increase its capacity during 2013 with new plants in South Korea.

Corporate transactions

On July 2, Abengoa completed the sale of 50% of the joint venture that manages four transmission line concessions to Compania Energetica de Minas Gerais (CEMIG), one of the largest electricity companies in Brazil. The sale formed part of the company's asset rotation strategy and boosted Abengoa's balance sheet cash position by €354 million. The other 50% of the company was sold in November 2011.

It is also worth highlighting the successful completion of the process to extend the company's syndicated debt of €1,663 million with 37 financial institutions, which demonstrates the level of confidence that a large number of national and international banks placed in Abengoa. The extension of the syndicated debt together with the issuance of a convertible bond and a senior bond in 2013 have enabled the company to extend the average term of its corporate bank debt by around one year, to an average term for corporate debt of more than 3.5 years.

Financial objectives

Abengoa is forecasting revenues to range from €8,000 to €8,100 million and EBITDA from €1,350 to €1,400 million in 2013, the midpoints of which represent an increase of 3% and 10% from 2012, respectively. Corporate EBITDA is expected to range from €800 to €825 million.

Details of the results presentation conference

Manuel Sanchez Ortega, CEO of Abengoa, and Barbara Zubiria Furest, Chief Reporting Officer & Head of Investor Relations, will host a conference call today to present the results, which will be simultaneously broadcast on the internet at 6.00 pm (Madrid time) and 12.00 pm (New York time).

To access the conference please dial +34 91 788 93 03. The conference can be followed live via Abengoa's website (www.abengoa.com). We recommend accessing the website at least 15 minutes before the start of the conference to be able to register and download the necessary audio software.

A recording of the conference will be available in the Shareholders and Corporate Governance section of the Abengoa website approximately two hours after it has finished.

About Abengoa

Abengoa (MCE: ABG.B) is an international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainable development in the energy and environment sectors, generating electricity from the sun, producing biofuels, desalinating sea water and recycling industrial waste. (www.abengoa.com)

Communication department
Patricia Malo de Molina Melendez.
Tel. +34 954 93 71 11
E-mail: [email protected]

Investor Relations
Barbara Zubiria Furest.
Tel. +34 954 93 71 11
E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Abengoa