The business of managing 27 motorway sections in Italy generated for Autostrade per l'Italia between 2001 and 2017 toll revenues of 43,7 billion. It is the balance of receipts (net of other revenues such as royalties for service areas and so on) from the management of the Benetton family since the privatization of the motorway concession, which took place in 2000, today reconstructed by Il Sole 24 Ore. That sum was paid by Italians and foreigners who traveled with their vehicles along the major national arteries. The motorway tariffs are recognized to the concessionaires by the State (the ownership of the network is public, only the management is private) to remunerate maintenance, investments and to cover their costs.
In the same period Aspi has invested 5 billion in maintenance work and 13,6 billion for the construction of extensions, improvements and new works. Labor costs incurred in the period amounted to approximately 7 billion. The Italian tariff system provides that the tariff also includes a fee paid to Anas (so-called premium) which contributes to its maintenance costs and a concession fee to the Ministry of the Economy: in the period these costs amounted to 3,6 billion. The aspect concerning the Anas fee is singular: established when the company had the functions of granting body and control of the motorway concessionaires (functions attributed to the transport ministry with the reforms introduced after 2010) it has nevertheless remained in place even now that the company it was transferred under the control of the FS and is a competitor, since it manages 900 kilometers of motorway sections.
After removing these items that the tariffs are called upon to cover to repay charges, costs and investments, the company is left with around 13 billion of margin: 5 billion in taxes were paid to the Italian state during the period. Just over 9 billion remain: again in the period, around 7,2 billion in financial charges were paid to support the debt, which also includes the one contracted for the purchase of Autostrade in the privatization phase.
The actual profits from which the company has benefited in these 16 years amount to 2,1 billion: essentially 130 million euros a year, a large part of which distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends. The reference shareholder, the Benetton family, received on average 30% of the dividends, even if not everything has been distributed (there are, for example, the quotas that go to the reserves). In a very summary way it can be said that about 600 million went to the Ponzano Veneto family.
Obviously we are only talking about a part of the profits of Atlantia, which in addition to the 27 Aspi sections manages another 5 in Italy. Then there are the various dealerships purchased in South America; airports such as Fiumicino and Nice airport complete the group's business. While the business abroad will be expanded with the acquisition of the Spanish Abertis. The accusation that has reached the group over the years is that of having benefited from extra profits guaranteed by an overly generous agreement which, among other aspects, underestimated the expectations of traffic growth in order to recognize higher tariff adjustments.
