FCC reports earnings boost in Q1 2017

Madrid-based FCC Group has reported a 12.7% increase in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to €173 million ($188 million) in the first quarter of 2017 compared with the same quarter in 2016. The company and its CEO Carlos M. Jarque say the improved earnings figure “reflects sustained growth in operating profitability across its business areas.”

FCC says its net profit amounted to €21.4 million ($23.3 million) in the first quarter, contrasting with a loss of €16.7 million ($18.2 million) in the same period last year, even though the 2016 first quarter included what FCC calls “one-off capital gains” transactions. “This result marks a sharp turnaround due to the progressive visibility of efficiency and profitability, both operational and financial, of group operations,” states FCC.

The company’s first quarter 2017 revenue declined by 2.8% compared with the previous year, “mainly as a result of the deconsolidation of the cement business in the U.S., initiated in November 2016,” says the company, and because of the loss in value of the British pound. Adjusting for both effects, FCC Group revenue would have increased by 2.2% year-over-year in the first quarter, says the firm.

FCC says it can point to several operations milestones in the first quarter of 2017, including:

• The start of operations at its materials recovery facility (MRF) in Dallas in the United States. FCC says it also further established itself in the U.S. market with two more waste and recycling collection contracts in Texas. Slightly less than 45% of FCC’s revenue in the period came from international (outside of Spain) markets, with environmental services accounting for 53.5% of EBITDA.
• In March 2017, the FCC Environment division also started up its ninth energy-from-waste plant, built to serve Worcestershire and Herefordshire in the United Kingdom. The plant will be able to process up to 200,000 tons of waste per year and has 15 megawatts of installed capacity to generate electricity that can be fed to the grid.

In addition to its environmental services (waste and recycling) division, FCC also has operations in the construction, water treatment and cement sectors.