ACS reports 17% rise in net profit as Abertis business grows

MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's ACS on Thursday posted a 17% rise in first-half net profit to 385 million euros ($429 million), buoyed by strong results in its construction businesses and a higher contribution from the toll road unit Abertis.

ACS said its construction businesses' net profit rose 25% to 213 million euros while Abertis contributed 95 million euros, almost twice as much as in the first half of 2022.

The infrastructure giant said that a rapid recovery in road traffic, new concessions and the increase in average tolls by 7% lead to the positive results for Abertis.

Separately, ACS said it had agreed on a new strategic collaboration with Mundys, its Italian partner in Abertis, to fund an investment plan to expand its portfolio of assets under management to help spur growth at the toll road unit.

"We will support with all our resources the growth of our alliance with Mundys," ACS Group Executive Chairman Florentino Perez said in a statement, without providing more details. Abertis is going to explore new investment opportunities in the global markets, the group added.

Alessandro Benetton, vice-chairman of Mundys and chairman of Edizione, also said they were committed to providing Abertis "with the necessary resources to start this new season of growth".

ACS said some 92% of its activities are concentrated in the United States, Australia, Spain and Canada.

Its construction activities in North America grew by 10.5% in the first half from a year ago.

While sales in the United States and Canada reached 10.3 billion euros, in the Asia-Pacific region construction sales recorded a 13.2% increase to 3.76 billion euros.

ACS and other Spanish construction and infrastructure companies such as Ferrovial see opportunities in the United States thanks to the Biden administration's green subsidies and incentives for major infrastructure projects.

In Europe, construction sales remained in line with the previous year, the company added.

($1 = 0.8981 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Inti Landauro, Jason Neely and Sharon Singleton)