Detailed narrative
North American highways carry the group
Highways revenue rose 14.9% and adjusted EBITDA 17.1% like-for-like in H1, with U.S. highways up 15.9% in revenue and 14% in EBITDA, now 88% of highways revenue and 97% of adjusted EBITDA. Management attributes the gains to underlying metropolitan economic and population growth plus value captured from users (time savings, reliability, safety) via dynamic pricing.
Dividends from North American highways totaled EUR 240M in H1, down from EUR 339M last year when a larger first I-77 dividend was paid.
407 ETR — pricing plus promotions-driven volume, Schedule 22 dynamics
407 ETR revenue grew 19.7% in H1 (total revenue +19.3%) on higher toll rates effective January 1, 2025, and fee revenue grew 25.4% on higher account, lease and enforcement fees. Q2 traffic rose 5.8% helped by targeted rush-hour promotions from March, partly offset by weather and delayed Highway 401 construction.
EBITDA still grew 13% despite CAD 45.2M of H1 Schedule 22 provisions (CAD 19.3M in Q2). Management stressed promotions bring net-new peak users without eroding regular-user service levels or elasticity, and reduce Schedule 22 exposure. Ferrovial raised its stake to 48.29% via a 5.06% purchase from AtkinsRéalis.
US Managed Lanes — pricing power split by cap structure
Unconstrained assets (I-66, I-77) with no soft cap drove revenue-per-transaction up 22.5% and 23.8% in H1 through toll-rate increases and dynamic pricing, with I-77 Q2 revenue +28% YoY largely from rate. Soft-capped Dallas lanes (NTE, NTE 35W) captured value through mandatory-mode events and a heavier peak/heavy-vehicle traffic mix plus annual inflation escalation.
NTE (-4.8% H1) and LBJ traffic were pressured by capacity-improvement and nearby corridor construction, while NTE 35W — unaffected by construction — grew transactions 3.9%. All lanes saw negative weather effects (heavy rain, Texas floods) but positive underlying economic activity.
Airports — NTO milestone year and Dalaman
New Terminal One at JFK is 72% complete, on budget and schedule, with 21 airline commitments (13 executed agreements, 8 letters of intent) and a $1.4B long-term green-bond issuance completing Phase A refinancing. Ferrovial invested EUR 244M in H1 with EUR 63M remaining for 2026.
Management flagged the final year as the hardest given system integration and coordination. Dalaman (Turkey) saw H1 traffic dip 0.3% on weaker domestic volumes but revenue +10.4% and EBITDA +10.9% on higher commercial income per passenger, partly offset by inflation-driven OpEx.
Construction — target margins on a record book
Construction revenue reached EUR 3,453M (+2.6% LFL), adjusted EBITDA EUR 191M (+4.2%) and adjusted EBIT EUR 119M (+11.2% LFL) at a 3.5% adjusted EBIT margin. Budimex ran a 7.3% EBIT margin, Webber a stable 2.7%, and Ferrovial Construction improved 50bps YoY to 1.6%, though its Q2 margin fell YoY on higher IT-utilization and rising bidding/tender costs tied to a strong pipeline.
The order book hit a record EUR 17.3B (45% North America), with EUR 2.7B of pre-awards/awaiting-financial-close not yet included. Operating cash flow was negative EUR 104M (vs -EUR 53M) on a lack of advance payments and seasonal working capital.
Capital allocation and balance sheet
Ferrovial closed the additional 407 ETR stake for EUR 1.3B (CAD 1.99B), divested AGS Airports for EUR 533M, injected EUR 244M into NTO, collected EUR 323M in dividends from infra projects and distributed EUR 334M to shareholders (cash + buybacks) in H1.
It also sold mining services in Chile for EUR 42M and its remaining 5.25% Heathrow stake for GBP 466M in early July. Ex-infrastructure net position was net cash of EUR 223M at end-H1, excluding Heathrow proceeds. A ticking fee on the fair-valued Heathrow stake lifted Q2 ex-infra financial results; a lower cash return reflected shareholder loans no longer in place at AGS.
The underlying accrual tax rate is around 20%, with capital gains untaxed and U.S. accelerated depreciation deferring cash taxes.
US policy tailwinds and pipeline
Management welcomed the TIFIA leverage-cap expansion from 33% to 49% of eligible project cost as improving financeability of large projects, and sees potential upside from streamlined environmental permitting, though no permitting delays from agency headcount cuts have materialized yet. A Ferrovial-led consortium was shortlisted for the I-24 Southeast Choice Lanes in Tennessee, one of six managed-lane projects in the pipeline, with I-24 and I-285 East Atlanta bids due H1 2026.
Management is also watching the U.S. transportation reauthorization bill.