Sacyr 2024 profit up 7%, misses forecast, as revenue from completed projects drops

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish engineering company Sacyr posted on Thursday a 7% rise in 2024 net profit, missing market expectations, due to a cyclical drop in revenue after completing construction projects for which it had mostly already been paid.

Sacyr finished building several motorways in Latin America and in Italy in the past two years. The company typically receives less for operating these roads compared to during their construction phase, although it has said it has sufficient cash flow for the next 25 years.

Sacyr's net profit rose to 113.4 million euros ($118.08 million), below an average of 126 million euros expected by analysts polled by LSEG. Revenues dropped 1% to 4.57 billion euros, as analysts expected.

Last year, the company had reported 153 million euros in net profit for 2023, including gains from some divestments, but it has changed the proforma comparison since.

The Madrid-based company in 2023 sold its services business to focus on building and running infrastructure projects such as motorways. It is seeking a partner this year to bring cash and allow it to bid for larger, more profitable projects in the U.S. and Canada.

Sacyr missed its target to record double-digit core earnings growth in 2023 and 2024. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell 10% in 2024 after rising 7% the year before.

($1 = 0.9603 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons; editing by Charlie Devereux and Andrei Khalip)