Ferrovial core earnings boosted by North American revenues

MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish construction giant Ferrovial posted a 39% rise in first-quarter core earnings on Thursday, mainly due to higher tolls and a strong recovery in mobility in North America, where it has two-thirds of its business and is looking to expand.

Ferrovial's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose to 189 million euros ($208 million) in the first three months of the year.

The company, which does 82% of its business overseas, posted revenue of 1.8 billion euros in the quarter, up 11% from a year earlier and beating the market's average forecast of 1.7 billion euros, thanks in part to better sales from its U.S. and Canada highway operations.

Ferrovial is moving its holding company to Amsterdam from Madrid and listing its shares there, as an "expeditious" way to apply for a U.S. listing at the end of 2023 in order to increase liquidity and financing options.

Sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters that potential access to U.S. government funding for the energy transition and other subsidies under the Biden administration's Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had influenced Ferrovial's decision, which angered the Spanish government.

The builder of highways, airports and metro lines and the largest shareholder in Heathrow Airport Holdings (HAH) is also benefiting from a strong recovery in airport traffic. Heathrow has seen a 75% increase in passenger numbers compared to the same period in 2022.

Ferrovial is also expanding its airport activities in the United States, last year acquiring a 49% stake in a project to build and operate a new terminal at New York's JFK airport, which is one of the company's largest projects.

($1 = 0.9084 euros)

(Reporting by Corina Pons; Editing by David Latona, Kirsten Donovan)