In 2018 the strategy Business as Unusual was launched, aimed at finding solutions to tackle the challenges of a more sustainable future. Every country that committed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals in 2030 demands this sort of solutions. Moreover, ACCIONA assists in funneling the necessary funding to carry out these projects.
Results
2020: Resilient and ready to grow
ACCIONA’s active management during the pandemic has enabled us to overcome the hardest COVID-19 stage, validating our Business as Unusual model and strengthening our growth potential.
- Business resilience with a 17.37% EBITDA in a falling demand and electricity price decline environment.
- In FY20 sales in water solutions and licenses went up minimizing the pandemic economic effects in other areas.
- Debt and investment concerted action kept the Debt/EBITDA ratio at 4.21x, very close to the 4x goal prevailing in pre-crisis times and below 4.5x10 set for 2020 due to the pandemic.
- A 3.9€ per share dividend distribution even in times of crisis, displaying the resilience of the business model and the owned assets.
- Financial strength to invest up to € 839 million, seizing market opportunities.
- Due to market interest in ACCIONA’s assets, € 318 million in divestitures.
SIGNIFICANT INDICATORS EVOLUTION
| 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Financial Performance | |||
| Sales (million €) | 7,510 | 7,191 | 6,472 |
| EBITDA (million €) | 1,245 | 1,356 | 1,124 |
| CAPEX gross (million €) | 643 | 1,270 | 1,024 |
| Nonfinancial performance | |||
| Personnel at year end | 38,544 | 39,699 | 38,355 |
| Female executives (% of total executives) | 13.99 | 15.25 | 16.36 |
| Average yearly training hours per employee | 18.47 | 14.52 | 10.64 |
| Number of fatal accidents (employees and subcontractors) | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Accident rate: overall frequency index (employees and subcontractors) | 2.4 | 2.5 | 1.9 |
| Generated emissions (million tons of CO2) | 0.18 | 0.17 | 0.13 |
| Avoided emissions (million tons of CO2) | 14.7 | 13.1 | 13.2 |
| Sales in line with European taxonomy of low carbon activities (%) | NA | 58 | 47 |
| CAPEX in line with European taxonomy of low carbon activities (%) | NA | 93 | 85 |
| ACCIONA’s water consumption (hm3) | 4.29 | 3.66 | 4.68 |
| Treated water (hm3) | 790 | 1,030 | 923 |
| Non-recoverable waste (million tons) | 4.1 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| Total innovation (million €) | 225.4 | 230.4 | 237.0 |
| Innovative intensity (% of total RDI/sales) | 3.0 | 3.2 | 3.7 |
| Local suppliers over the total (%) | 87 | 91 | 94 |
| Turnover certified with ISO 9001 (%) | 91 | 87 | 84 |
| Global customer satisfaction index | 97 | 97 | 99 |
| Projects with Social Impact Management (n.) | 98 | 124 | 127 |
| Social contribution (million €) | 13.7 | 12.5 | 11.7 |
INVESTMENT EVOLUTION
Managing investment and debt during the pandemic has been one significant aspect in our resilience strategy. The company’s leadership and planning in the second and third quarter were crucial to keep investment levels in long term solutions, while divesting in projects to obtain the necessary cash to maintain our financial robustness at any time.
| Investment by division FY18 | FY18(€m) | FY19(€m) | FY20(€m) | % Var. 2020 vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 554 | 608 | 607 | -0.1 |
| New energy capability | 554 | 509 | 595 | 16.9 % |
| Nordex capital increase | 0 | 99 | 12 | -87.9 % |
| Infrastructures | 146 | 392 | 205 | -47.6 % |
| Construction | 22 | 45 | 79 | 77.4 % |
| Licenses | 4 | 288 | 72 | -75.1 % |
| Water | 59 | 15 | 10 | -32.7 % |
| Services | 61 | 44 | 44 | 0.4 % |
| Other activities | 28 | 35 | 17 | -52.1 % |
| Ordinary net investment | 726 | 1,034 | 829 | -19.9 % |
| Real estate | 100 | 272 | 14 | -94.7 % |
| Divestitures | -1,420 | -66 | -318 | 381.6 % |
| Net investment | 1,023 | 1,241 | 526 | -57.6 % |
DEBT AND LIABILITIES EVOLUTION
Active investment management and cash from divestitures went a long way to keep the financial debt/EBITDA ratio at 4.21, exceeding the 4x goal set prior to the crisis years and a widespread lockout in countries where ACCIONA also operates. In such a pandemic context, we have been able to curb the net financial debt at 4,733 million euros.
Breakdown by type of debt (million euros)
Net debt and net interest evolution (million euros)
Due to investment and divestiture handling, net debt was curbed 14%.
The sustainable financial framework has enabled ACCIONA to improve its access to the increasing availability of funds requiring a positive impact on the planet, thus being able to diversify its funding sources and achieving an efficient cost of capital.
