Portugal's largest construction company Mota-Engil said on Wednesday strong sales in Africa helped drive a 20% rise in net profit in the first half to an all-time high.
The builder, which operates in more than 20 countries in Africa, Europe and Latin America, posted a net profit of €59m (R1.22bn) in the period, up from €49m (R1.02bn) last year.
Overall sales rose 0.5% to €2.75bn (R57bn), with Africa increasing 59% to €1.05bn (R21.76bn) and "standing out as the region with the strongest growth and profitability" due to projects in Nigeria and Angola, Mota-Engil said in a statement.
Sales in Latin America fell 27% to €1.09bn (R22.59bn) reflecting a "transition period" after two consecutive years of significant growth. In Europe, sales dropped 18% to €242m (R5.02bn) following the sale of the company's Polish operations in September.
Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose 13% to €448m (R9.29bn) and its EBITDA margin — a measure of profitability — rose to 16% from 15% during the same period a year ago.
Mota-Engil, which is 40%-owned by the Mota family and 32.41% by China Communications Construction Company, said its order backlog reached €14.7bn (R304.68bn) in June, €1bn (R20.73bn) more than a year ago. It said that secured "a strong revenue outlook for 2026 and beyond".
While the order backlog fell short of the record €15.6bn (R323.34bn) reached in December, it did not yet include projects awarded in Portugal, Mexico and Rwanda worth €1.4bn (R29.02bn) since June 30.
Reuters
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