Rome, June 12th, 2024
The FS Group has presented its results for the first three months of 2024, which saw a significant increase in operating revenues to over 4 billion euros and growth in capital expenditure to more than 3 billion euros, up 49% compared with the same period of 2023.
“The FS Group closed the first quarter of 2024 with strong improvements in its main performance and financial indicators”, remarked Luigi Ferraris, CEO of the FS Italiane Group, “and posted a sharp acceleration in capital expenditure, which increased by about 50% compared with the same period of 2023. The increase in revenues was driven by solid operational performance and the recovery in volumes of passengers transported in all business segments of the Passenger Division, with double-digit growth in high-speed operations. The urban renewal program of the Urban Division also contributed to the results, with the completion in the first three months of 2024 of the sale of the disused railway yards of Milan Farini and San Cristoforo.”
Performance and financial position |
|
|
Millions of euros |
|
|
Q1 2024 |
Q1 2023 |
Change |
% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Operating revenues |
4,085 |
3,265 |
820 |
+25% |
EBITDA |
392 |
329 |
63 |
+19% |
Capital expenditure |
3,239 |
2,179 |
1,060 |
+49% |
Net financial debt |
11,665 |
11,185* |
480 |
+4% |
| *Net financial debt for 2023 refers to December 31st, 2023 | ||||
Operating revenues increased by 820 million euros, mainly due to the growth in transport services (+177 million euros), infrastructure services (+160 million euros) and other revenues from services (+515 million euros).
Revenues from transport services amounted to 2.1 billion euros, an increase of 177 million euros compared with the first quarter of 2023. The expansion was registered in both national and international operations, a direct consequence of operational management actions and a recovery in travel demand in terms of passenger-km.
Revenues from infrastructure services came to 1 billion euros, an increase of about 19% compared with the year-earlier period (+160 million euros), reflecting the growth in revenues in the road sector, mainly attributable to Anas management services.
Other revenues from services totaled 616 million euros, an increase of 515 million euros. The change mainly reflected the sale of the Milan Farini railway yard by FS Sistemi Urbani as part of the Program Agreement signed with the City of Milan.
EBITDA increased by 63 million euros, or 19%, compared with the first quarter of 2023, due mainly to the dynamics of revenue growth in all business segments.
As regards capital expenditure, the first quarter of 2024 confirmed the Group's central role in supporting the national industrial system. The Group developed and managed total capital expenditure of 3.2 billion euros (98% in Italy), an increase of 49% compared with the first quarter of 2023. Of the total, 2.8 billion euros regarded railway and road infrastructure, including the following works: the Turin-Milan-Naples high-speed line, the Naples-Bari line, the Verona-Vicenza segment of the Verona-Padua high-speed/high-capacity line, the Brescia-Verona segment of the Milan-Verona line and the Terzo Valico dei Giovi segment.
Net financial debt amounted to 11.7 billion euros, an increase of 480 million euros compared with December 31st, 2023, reflecting the greater use of short-term funding to support the FS Group’s investment cycle.
The FS Group workforce rose to 93,900 as of March 31st, 2024, from 92,446 in December 2023, with turnover reflecting about 3,000 new hires, mainly due to generational turnover.
The officer responsible for the preparation of the corporate financial reports, Marco Fossataro, certifies, pursuant to Article 154-bis, paragraph 2, of the Consolidated Law on Financial Intermediation, that the accounting information contained in this document corresponds with that contained in the accounting documentation, books and records. The document also contains forward-looking statements that do not constitute a guarantee of future events or performance.