The AVAX group recorded an increase in turnover and profitability, with a further reduction in borrowings in the first half of the year, with the outstanding amount standing at €3.23 billion.

According to the group's announcement, consolidated turnover from continuing operations only, i.e., excluding the discontinued operations of the Volterra subsidiary, increased by 50.4% to €289.1 million compared to €192.2 million in the corresponding period of 2023.

The Group's earnings before interest, taxes, financial charges, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) from continuing operations amounted to €54.2 million in the first half of 2024, compared to €27.4 million in the first half of the previous year. The company's EBITDA amounted to €40.7 million in the first half of 2024, compared to €18.0 million in the first half of 2023.

Profit after tax from continuing operations at Group level amounted to €19.4 million in the first half of 2024 (€9.1 million at Company level) compared to €3.4 million in the comparable period of 2023 (loss of €1.5 million at Company level).

The performance of the construction segment improved further with widening profit margins. In particular, the EBITDA margin of the construction division increased to 9.4% in the first half of 2024 from 6.8% in the corresponding half of 2023, a trend which is expected to continue as the pace of implementation of new projects with superior profitability characteristics accelerates.

Further reduction in borrowing

The Group's Net Bank Borrowings (including financial leases) decreased by €7.4 million during the first half of 2024 to €213.5 million at the end of the period. The overall reduction in net bank borrowings since the end of 2020 amounts to 53%, resulting in the Group's financial costs being contained at €12.0 million in the first half of 2024 compared to €10.9 million in the comparable half of 2023, despite the increase in borrowing rates.

Strong equity portfolio

The value of the Group's portfolio of concessions, PPPs and marinas remains high, offering high projected dividends over the long term, while the Group is selectively participating in the tendering processes for new concessions and PPPs in the country.

In this context, the ABAX Group is strengthening its wholly owned subsidiary ABAX Concessions, which recently issued a joint bond of €300 million with a 7-year term, in order to undertake its own financing for the implementation of its development and investment projects, allowing greater transparency in the borrowing of the listed construction company ABAX SA, which is mainly limited to the needs for the execution of projects.

Quality backlog of signed project contracts

At the end of the first half of 2024, the Group's backlog of signed projects amounted to €2.99 billion (compared to €3.05 billion at the end of 2023). Within the first half of 2024, the Group signed new contracts worth €136 million, while there are contracts to be signed for a total value of €243 million. Taking all the above projects into account, the backlog in the current period amounts to €3.23 billion, of which 47% corresponds to public projects and the remaining 53% to private projects and PPPs.