Italian lender Unicredit has announced the cancellation of an agreement reached in November with Spain’s Santander to create a new asset management company by combining their respective subsidiaries Pioneer Investments and Santander Asset Management.
Abertis’ key figures improved in the first half of 2016, with growth in net profit (+9% like-for-like) to €510Mn , EBITDA (+7% like-for-like) to €1,502Mn and revenue (+5%) to a total of €2,243Mn, in a period featuring a resilient recurring business, traffic increases and the addition of new assets to the consolidation scope following the acquisition of 50% of Autopista Central in Chile.
Cellnex Telecom is the leading independent operator of wireless telecommunications’ infrastructure in Europe and is a newcomer to the Spanish stock exchange (it made its debut on June 9). In the first half to June, the company obtained revenues of €338 million and EBITDA of €134 million. Net income reached €24 million compared to €18 million a year earlier. At end-June, Cellnex had a portfolio of 15,135 towers located in Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and France. Cellnex is a subsidiary of Abertis.
Telefonica has presented on Thursday its first half results. These have highlighted the new contribution from its O2 UK subsidiary, which returns to the multinational’s permiter after five quarters on the outside. Revenues in the UK during H1’16 reached 3,464 million euros against 25,235 in the consolidated group. Meanwhile, Telefonica’s frustrated attempt to sell its UK unit O2 to Hutchison is beginning to have consequences.
Banco Santander registered attributable profit of EUR 2.911 billion in the first half of 2016, a 32% decrease compared to the same period of 2015. This decline is affected by one-offs and the depreciation against the euro of the currencies of the main countries where the Group is present.
Despite all the international support Erdogan has received since the failed coup on July 15, the situation in Turkey has become complicated because of the President’s reaction. It has fuelled a dangerous dynamic in the Euroasian country which could end up harming the Turkish economy and, therefore, the international companies operating there.
This week Inditex approved the appointment of Baroness Denise Kingsmill to its board of directors, as well as a long-term incentive plan, in cash and shares, for up to 600 company executives, including chairman Pablo Isla. The company also said it will not alter any plans it has for the UK despite Brexit.
The 25 non-financial companies listed on the Ibex 35 index have achieved something in 2015 which many considered as impossible: reducing their debt ratio. And they have done this despite the fact that their net income was lower than the previous year. According to BME (Bolsas y Mercados Españoles) their financial debt was 38% of liabilities, compared with 44.3% in 2014.
The Spanish wind energy company will start to operate in the Dutch market with an agreement to provide 11 MW and has also signed other five in France, Italy and Greece to install about 72 MW. Gamesa Dutch project entails replacing old turbines in different wind farms –three G58-850 kW units and ten G52-850 kW units.
Despite the rumours, top Spanish Bank Santander -Eurozone’s 2nd largest by market cap- will indeed complete this year the merger of its asset management fund (Santander AM) with Pioneer Investments, Italian UniCredit’s subsidiary, once the operation meets the regulatory and legal requirements. A EUR5.3 bn deal that has been simmering for more than 20 months.