• THE GROUP'S CONSTANT GROWTH IS SUPPORTED BY THE INCREASE IN SKILLS, WITH 10,000 NEW HIRES IN THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF THE YEAR, AND BY CONTINUOUS INVESTMENTS
• MORE THAN 90% OF NEW ORDERS FROM ABROAD: AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES, SAUDI ARABIA AND EUROPE
• STRONG COMMERCIAL PIPELINE AT ABOUT €120 BILLION, INCLUDING €22 BILLION OF TENDERS AWAITING OUTCOME
• GROUP WORKFORCE AT OVER 91,000, FROM MORE THAN 120 COUNTRIES
• GROUP BENEFITTING FROM NEW OPPORTUNITIES IN SEGMENTS REQUIRING DEEP TECHNICAL EXPERTISE DRIVEN BY GLOBAL MEGATRENDS, SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, POPULATION GROWTH, WATER SCARCITY AND THE GROWING USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
• 2024 GUIDANCE CONFIRMED: BOOK-TO-BILL FORECAST AT MORE THAN 1,0X, REVENUES EXCEEDING €11 BILLION; EBITDA GREATER THAN €900 MILLION; STRONG NET CASH POSITION EXCEEDING €400 MILLION

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MILAN, November 14, 2024 – The Board of Directors of Webuild (Euronext Milan: WBD) today examined the following data and information relating to the business performance since the start of 2024.

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In a sector in which long-term growth drivers are linked to global megatrends, Webuild reaffirms its ability to seize market opportunities, having acquired a total of €8.3 billion worth of orders year-to-date. In line with its de-risking strategy and the strengthening of its leadership in key markets, more than 90% of new orders acquired by the Group come from foreign markets, including Australia, the United States, the Middle East, and Europe. In Italy, the order intake amounts to €0.5 billion.

The sector’s profound transformation, marked by a growing demand for innovative infrastructure to address the challenges posed by global trends, provides Webuild with significant growth opportunities. Trends that affect the markets where the Group operates include climate change, population growth, water scarcity and the growing use of artificial intelligence. Within this context, the short-term commercial pipeline totals about €120 billion.

In the third quarter of 2024, Webuild was confirmed once again as global leader in the water sector by U.S. industry magazine Engineering News-Record (ENR). It also entered into agreements with Edison to develop two pumped hydro energy storage projects to seize future investment opportunities in the energy sector. The Group is pursuing works in other strategic sectors, such as sports, where it recently signed an agreement to renovate the Dall'Ara Stadium in Bologna - Italy. In sustainable mobility, it signed a contract to build a section of Suburban Rail Loop East in Melbourne - Australia.

The quality of the order backlog, together with Webuild’s economic-financial soundness and outlook, were decisive factors in the outlook upgrade from “Stable” to “Positive” by Fitch Ratings and S&P Global Ratings.

During the same period, Webuild successfully issued two bonds in June and October, totaling €1 billion, and maturing in 2029 and 2030. In addition to accelerating the rescheduling of debt maturities set between 2024 and 2026 and managing them ahead of time, these issues highlight the significant appreciation by domestic and foreign investors of the Group’s strong financial position. 

Projects are progressing accordingly, both in Italy and abroad. Webuild completed Milan’s M4 metro line, with the opening of 13 stations; it opened the San Pasquale Station on Line 6 of the Naples Metro; it completed the dual-track rail section between Catania Bicocca and Catenanuova in Sicily; and it launched tunnel excavation using tunnel-boring machines (TBMs) for the North East Link motorway in Melbourne, Australia. The Group is also positioning itself to take advantage of the lower operational costs and benefits at the level of sustainability offered by a circular economy with a new plant in Terni - Italy, for the regeneration of TBMs. The first such TBM is on its way to the construction site of the Salerno-Reggio Calabria high-speed rail line in southern Italy.

Finally, with the purpose of creating synergies and simplifying the organizational structure, the Group has filed for a merger for incorporating its subsidiary Webuild Italia S.p.A. with Webuild S.p.A.. It would be done without share swap, nor a capital increase of the incorporating party, nor any amendment to Webuild by-laws.

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NEW ORDERS

Total new orders acquired and in the process of being finalised since the start of the year amount to €8.3 billion. The geographical distribution of the new orders and a list of the main contracts acquired are shown below:

• Trojena Project: construction of three dams and related innovative works to feed a lake at a ski resort in Trojena as part of the futuristic NEOM project in Saudi Arabia worth $4.7 billion. It includes “The Bow”, an architectural structure that will extend the surface of the lake beyond the front of the main dam. In addition to supporting the development and regeneration of the area, which will host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, the project is part of the Saudi Vision 2030 for the economic diversification of the country.
• Grand Paris Express – Line 15: design and construction of Lot 2 of the western section of metro line 15 of the Grand Paris Express. The project, which involves the construction of four underground stations and six functional works, has a total value of €1.38 billion. Webuild will execute it in a joint-venture in which it has a 45.5% stake.
• Suburban Rail Loop Project: design and build the “Tunnels North” lot of Suburban Rail Loop East, which involves the excavation of two parallel tunnels, each nearly 10 kilometres long, between the future stations of Box Hill and Glen Waverley, as well as the creation of 39 cross passages between them. The contract, for a total worth of AUD1.7 billion (ca. €1 billion), has been assigned to “Terra Verde” joint-venture, led by Webuild with a 33.5% stake.
• Seminole Expressway/SR 417: design and build a six-mile section of the Seminole Expressway/SR 417 state road in Seminole County, Florida, expanding it from four to eight lanes. Commissioned to Webuild through U.S. subsidiary Lane, the contract has a total value of $299 million.
• New Industrial Railway Plant (Nuovo Stabilimento Industriale Ferroviario): construction of the main building, nearby technical buildings, and all the works for the external area of the project in Ticino, Switzerland, worth a total of €302 million. Webuild, through its Swiss subsidiary CSC Costruzioni, was awarded the project in a joint-venture with a 67% share.
• Dampier Port: construction of a new quay and maneuvering area for large ships. The project, awarded to the Australian subsidiary Clough for AUD 283 million (€173 million), will contribute to enhancing and diversifying the activities of Dampier, a strategic port in Western Australia.
• Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana: renovation of the Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana, the air base of the U.S. Navy in Virginia. The contract, fully awarded to Lane, foresees fixing taxiways and related works, with a total value of $208 million. 
• Highway Interchange I-4/SR33: reconstruction of the existing interchange between Interstate 4 (I-4) and State Road 33 (SR 33) in Lakeland, Florida, with the aim of accommodating increased traffic in the area and integrating a future rail corridor in the median of I-4. The contract, awarded to Lane, has a total value of $190 million.
• Package 1A Palisades Tunnel Project: design and construction of two twin tunnels under the Hudson Tunnel Project (HTP) that will significantly boost the efficiency and capacity of New York City's rail connections. The Palisades Tunnel, one of three separate tunnels of HTP, involves the construction of two rail tunnels, each approximately 1.6 kilometers long with an internal diameter of about 8 metres. The contract valued at $466 million has been secured by U.S. subsidiary Lane with a 35% share. 
• Pape Tunnel and Underground Stations: development and construction of the section of the new Ontario Line, a rapid underground rail service in Toronto. It includes three kilometres of tunnels and two underground stations for an estimated total of between €700 million and €1.3 billion (CAN$1-2 billion). It will be executed as a “Progressive Design-Build”. The final value will be determined by the final design. Webuild was awarded the project in a joint-venture with a 50% share. 
• I-64 Hampton Roads Express Lanes: widen and reconfigure the “Newport News Segment” of the express lanes in Hampton, Virginia, adding an express lane in each direction. The project, which was commissioned to U.S. subsidiary Lane, includes the replacement of two bridges and the modernisation of a further six bridges. The total value is $110 million.

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COMMERCIAL PIPELINE

The Group’s short-term commercial pipeline amounts to €118.5 billion, including tenders submitted and awaiting an outcome for €21.8 billion. 

Webuild continues to monitor opportunities in low-risk markets such as Europe, Australia, North America, and the Middle East. The Group holds a strategic position in these markets and aims to benefit from solid investment programmes that will support the development of large traditional projects, such as roads and railways, as well as those in growing sectors such as stadiums, hospitals, ports, and hydroelectric plants. Additionally, Webuild is well-positioned to seize opportunities arising from investments in data centres, where it can leverage the expertise of its subsidiary CSC. It is also leveraging the know-how of its Fisia Italimpianti subsidiary in its pursuit of projects in the water infrastructure sector.

Beyond its core markets, Webuild keeps a close watch on other geographic areas where it can leverage its local experience and technical skills acquired in recent years to achieve an appropriate balance between risk and return.

Below is a breakdown of the pipeline by category and geography: 

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OUTLOOK

The evolution of the commercial and business activities, as well as the volume and quality of the order backlog, allow the Group to confirm the financial guidance for 2024: a book-to-bill greater than 1.0 times, revenues exceeding €11 billion and EBITDA greater than €900 million. Despite this growth, the Group remains focused on cash generation, maintaining a solid net cash position, which is expected to exceed €400 million.

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Disclaimer 

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are based on the Group's current expectations and projections regarding future events and, by their nature, are subject to an inherent component of risk and uncertainty. They are statements that relate to events and depend on circumstances which may or may not happen or occur in the future and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on them. Actual results may differ even significantly from those announced due to a variety of factors, including: volatility and deterioration of capital and financial markets, changes in commodity prices, changes in macroeconomic conditions and growth economic and other changes in business conditions, of an atmospheric nature, due to floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters, changes in legislation and the institutional context (both in Italy and abroad), difficulties in production, including constraints in the use of plants and supplies and many other risks and uncertainties, the majority of which are beyond the control of the Group.