The results are the first full-year results released since CAF acquired Polish bus and LRV manufacturer Solaris on September 4 2018, and also follows the opening of a new factory in Newport, Wales, where it will assemble Civity DMU vehicles for Wales & borders franchisee KeolisAmey.
CAF also saw a 23% increase in its order backlog, from €6.2bn to €7.7bn, an all-time high for the third straight year, and a 92% increase in order intake, up from €1.5bn to €2.9bn. International orders account for 89% of the backlog, with 9% in the bus sector and 91% in the rolling stock sector.
EBITDA grew 12% from €180m to €201m, with a margin of 9.8%, while EBIT decreased 1% from €146m to €144m, with a margin of 7%. Profit before tax increased 19% from €68m to €81m.
The company recorded high recurrence and increasing diversification of orders, with 80% of the orders from repeat customers, 40% extensions of previous orders and 50% including options exercisable by the customer in future.
Revenue
Revenue generated included 23% in Britain, 12% in the Netherlands, 12% in Mexico, 12% in Spain and 41% in other countries.
Revenue from rolling stock increased 41% from €933m to €1.3bn, while services decreased 4% from €337m to €362m. Revenue from components, equipment, systems and others increased 26% from €167m to €210m.
Regional and commuter trains made up 56% of train sales, while metros accounted for 24%, trams and LRVs 13%, high-speed trains 3% and others 4%.
CAF says working capital decreased thanks to the portfolio's improved payment conditions, dropping 84% from €247m to €40m.
The growth in net financial debt, which increased from €219m at the end of 2017 to €324m at the end of 2018, was mainly due to the investment to acquire Solaris but was offset by strong cash generation.
In its outlook for the market, CAF says the railway industry looks set to continue growing in the coming years, especially in western Europe which is expected to have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.3% between 2021 and 2023.
As part of its strategic plan 2020, CAF says it expects “digital transformation” to underpin greater growth in vehicles, a strengthening of the services business, and the growth of other businesses, and maintains that the favourable outlook for the CAF group remains upbeat.
