ROADIS is working towards an exciting future where we will continue to grow and develop our long-term strategy.
2018 was a good year. We consolidated our position on the market: at a global level, revenue grew by 17% compared to the previous financial year; and traffic also grew by 4.5%. For the first time we exceeded 200 million euros in EBITDA, underlining the strength of our asset portfolio.
Our teams continue to focus on two major strategic priorities: excellence in management, operation and maintenance of our motorways, and seeking new business opportunities which are profitable in the long-term. This is all whilst we continue to improve community relations, thanks to different corporate social responsibility initiatives.
thanks to an agreement signed to become principal shareholders in two major motorways in the country: Auto Estradas do Atlantico (AEA) and Auto Estradas do Litoral Oeste (AELO). Also, in Spain, the Madrid-Ocaña section of the A4 motorway continues to show stable growth, with traffic figures close to ninety thousand vehicles per day.
There are two very significant markets for us in North America: the United States and Mexico. The Saltillo-Monterrey motorway in Mexico is now exceeding ten thousand vehicles per day, following several years of double-digit growth; whilst the traffic on the Perote-Banderilla-Xalapa motorway has grown by nearly ten percent. The United States is also a strategic country for the company. ROADIS relies on professional teams, with the objective to develop and extend the company’s portfolio through high-quality assets.
2018 traffic continued to grow, at a rate exceeding 10% in several cases. This market remains a major opportunity for growth thanks to the strong pipeline of potential acquisitions available.
Finally, in Brazil, in the state of Bahía, we manage the BR-116 and the BR-324, which cover over 680 km within the country. The BR-116 duplication works continued this year, and we have considerably expanded our corporate social responsibility programme. However, a major milestone remains pending for this contract: the five-year review.
The five-year review process, which to date has been significantly delayed, is provided for in the concession contract and the ANTT regulations. Its objective is to adapt the conditions and investments of the concession to the economic reality of the country; all of this taking into account the needs of users and communities.
Another strategic pillar at ROADIS is to continue to focus on our target markets such as Colombia, Greece or Chile, in order to identify and prioritise opportunities where we could demonstrate our competitive advantages.
I would also like to underline our corporate social responsibility strategy, because in 2018 we strengthened our commitment to sustainable growth. Both at the central offices and at the different business units, we have deployed a strategy focused on five fundamental pillars: teamwork, innovation, safety, the environment and community relations.
In 2018 we continued to implement human resources policies which have allowed us to improve our teams’ development. We improved our good corporate governance, audit, control and decision-making procedures to guarantee excellent in everyday performance.
That is why I say that 2018 was a good year; and this was all made possible thanks to everyone on the team at ROADIS. We will continue to work with drive and enthusiasm to ensure that 2019 is another year which will make us proud.
Many thanks to all the employees, partners and colleagues which are part of the big ROADIS family for their effort and commitment this year. And thank you to our shareholder, PSP Investments, for their support in developing this strategy.
– JOSÉ ANTONIO LABARRA
