Piazza Affari opens positively but remains weak due to the banks. Instead, the leap of Atlantia at startup (+1,1%). The holding company of Highways e Rome airports (Adr) is rewarded for a number of reasons: on the one hand the quarterly cons published last Friday; on the other, the good results of Adr and expectations for the sale of a 40% stake in the capital; finally, the progress of the works for the Variante di Valico. Intermonte has thus confirmed its forecasts while Equita has maintained the "buy" judgment, emphasizing in particular the performance of AdR whose results "are growing by double digits" and suggest that the sale of a share "will take place at attractive prices".
It's right on 40% sale di Aeroporti (95,91% controlled by Atlantia, with two small stakes in the hands of some local entities including the Municipality of Fiumicino) which is the focus of the market's attention, while over the weekend Atlantia celebrated in the presence of the premier Matteo Renzi the opening of the last aperture of the Val di Sambro tunnel, along the new major highway that will flank the current A1 Bologna-Florence. "A challenge won by all" underlined the CEO Giovanni Castellucci.
According to rumors circulating in recent weeks, Atlantia has appointed Goldman Sachs to launch a survey of infrastructure investors and sovereign wealth funds to sell an initial 20 percent stake in Adr through a beauty contest. Another 20 percent should instead end up in Adia, the Abu Dhabi fund, within the Alitalia-Etihad Airways operation, once the transaction is ratified by Brussels. In truth, Atlantia has denied the rumors but the market continues to bet on it, in the belief that the dossier is already on the desks of the major sovereign wealth funds in the world interested in the numbers and prospects for traffic growth at Roman airports, the gateway from the Mediterranean to the Europe. The latest press rumors mention the Kuwait and the infrastructure giant Wren House as the major candidate to flank Adia, the fund of Abu Dhabiin investment.
The early morning sprint on the Stock Exchange, it was said, is supported by the opinion of analysts on the quarterly accounts. Atlantia closed first 9 months of the year with the net profit pertaining to the Group a 623 million, an increase of 65 million (+12%) compared to the same period of 2013 (+10%, if we exclude changes in scope and non-recurring events). Revenues for the 9 months amounted to 3,969 billion, an increase of 26% compared to the same period of 2013 (+9% on a like-for-like exchange rate and consolidation perimeter). Ebitda stood at 2,48 billion (+25% and +8% at constant exchange rates and consolidation perimeter). Traffic is growing: +0,8% on the Italian motorway network; +4,4% on the foreign one.
Investments by the Atlantia group in the first nine months totaled 708 million, down by 171 million compared to the same period of the previous year, mainly as a result of the completion of the eco-tax project in France and the completion of some works on the network under concession in Italy. The operating cash flow generated in the nine months amounted to 1,613 billion, an increase of 325 million (+25%) compared to the first nine months of 2013 (+7% on a like-for-like exchange rate and consolidation basis). Net financial debt as of September 30 decreased to 10,241 billion, down by 528 million compared to December 31, 2013.
