Intermoney | Sacyr (Buy, PO 4.0 €) reported yesterday, with the market open, the commissioning of the last remaining sections of the Pamplona-Cúcuta road project in the Department of Norte de Santander (Colombia). The 62.6 km long road has 72.2 km of rehabilitated sections and 50.2 km of new construction and has required an investment of €592 million. The Group will manage the project until 2046 through the concessionaire Unión Vial Río Pamplonita, wholly owned by Sacyr. In June 2023, Sacyr closed the refinancing of the project for $642 million. This refinancing obtained a social seal rating from Moody’s ESG Solutions and included: 1) a $400 million social bond; 2) a multi-tranche bank loan of $165 million; and 3) another bank tranche, in Colombian pesos, for $77 million. This refinancing won the Bonds & Loans award for the best Structured Finance of 2023 in Latin America.
Assessment: Another piece of good news for Sacyr, which confirms even more the importance of Colombia as a key market for the Group, where it has six assets under construction or already in service, such as the Pamplona-Cúcuta highway. Five of the projects are roads, while the sixth is a river canal. Four of the six projects are 100% managed by Sacyr.
In 1Q24 Colombia generated EBITDA of €85m, or 25% of the Group’s total, more than any other, compared to, for example, €28m from concessions in Spain. Next Thursday 9th, Sacyr will hold its Investor Day, where new financial targets for the Concessions business, which accounts for more than 80% of the Group’s EBITDA, will no doubt be presented.
