Mota-Engil posts €22M in profits

The Portuguese International construction company Mota-Engil which has or has had major projects in Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe, has posted profits of €22 million for 2021.

That compared to losses of €20 million posted in 2020. In a communiqué to the markets, the group states that its business turnover grew 9% to €2.65 million “with a very positive impact on performance in the second half”.
In the second half of the year turnover increased by 19% “largely because of economic recovery in Africa which was a deciding factor” which grew 56% for the period, followed by Latin America which “consolidated a return to growth after the impact of the pandemic in 2020”, the company adds.
In its construction and engineering business the Portuguese market bounced back to become “the largest market for the group in this activity segment after many years focused overseas, with a growth of 11% in business turnover in 2021, overtaking Mexico and Angola”.
In Europe as a whole, business turnover suffered a 2% fall to €1Bn, although its EBITDA grew 23% to €144 million, with an improvement in construction business margins in Portugal and Poland.
The company’s residuals management segment improved its margin from 25% to 27%, enabling an overall margin of 14%.
In Africa, the group led by Gonçalo Moura Martins registered a growth in business turnover of 20% to €910 million and an EBITDA of 4% to €199 million, with a margin at 22% for the region.
According to Mota-Engil, its order books in Africa reached a record €4.8Bn (64% of the total), which “allowed for significant activity growth for this region in the coming years”.
In Latin America, the group registered a growth of 15% in business turnover to €685 million and 8% EBITDA to €92 million with a margin of 13%. The company says this was down to a strong recovery in the Mexican market (growth of 23%) where the group is working on one of the branch lines for Tren Maya, the largest railway project in Latin America.
Regarding the prospects for future activities, Mota-Engil states that it has “won contracts for 2022 in markets such as Uganda, Mexico and Peru which has placed its order book in excess of €8Bn for the first time in its history”.