Ebitda improved from €135m in 2016 to €180m in 2017 due to the increase in sales and efficiency measures.

However, order intake dropped from €2.68bn in 2016 to €1.51bn in 2017, which CAF says was in line with its target, but was considerably more than the €902m order intake achieved in 2015.

CAF’s order backlog at the end of 2017 was at an historic high of €6.27bn, equivalent to 4.2 times sales for 2017, and it says the bulk of the backlog continues to be international, especially from European orders.

The company managed to reduce its gross financial debt in 2017 by €78m to €698m.

CAF says it expects to maintain double-digit turnover growth in 2018 due to increased sales activity, especially in Europe, and says it wants to maintain its current historic order backlog in excess of €6bn.