Message from the Chairman
of the Board of Directors
The year 2023 was marked by significant challenges and achievements. Constructel Visabeira reached new all-time highs in its main indicators, reflecting the commitment and dedication of the entire organisation and the trust placed in it by our shareholders.
2023 presented a complex global economic situation with market fluctuations and geopolitical uncertainties, which required a high level of resilience and adaptation from us. These characteristics continue to define the identity of our organisation, allowing us to reach important milestones in our path to growth.
Even in this very complex context, Constructel Visabeira remained focused on sustained growth in its business, reinforcing its position in the global market with a significant increase in turnover to around 1.3 billion euros, achieving impressive growth of 23%, the majority of which was achieved organically, confirming this as its most distinctive capacity compared to its peers. This extremely positive result was reinforced by growth of more than 22% in EBITDA, which reached 136 million euros, and net profit of 52.6 million euros, corresponding to significant growth of 31%. It should be noted that this organic growth is underpinned by a number of successful acquisitions, supported by a very solid balance sheet which strengthens our presence in key geographic markets, allowing us to diversify our business portfolio.
Constructel Visabeira showed sustained growth in its activity in foreign markets, exceeding 80% of its total turnover. In the European market, excluding Portugal, turnover was 908 million euros, with the most representative markets being: France, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany, the latter achieving remarkable growth during 2023.
Activity in the USA has grown considerably, accounting for around 10% of the total. Accordingly, we maintain the relative weight of our consolidated turnover in that country, where we expect to grow significantly over the next few years.
This performance clearly reflects Constructel Visabeira’s successful strategy, focused on diversification and operational efficiency. The company has thus strengthened its trajectory of growth and sustained results, and has strengthened its position in the European market as one of the main suppliers of telecommunications and energy services, and significantly expanded in the USA market with high growth potential.
Constructel Visabeira, complying with its strategic plan, has continued to strengthen its presence in Europe and in the United States, both in the telecommunications and energy sectors, thanks to its differentiated know-how and distinctive operational skills.
As part of its strategy of diversifying its business and balancing the energy and telecommunications sectors, Constructel Visabeira has continuously and significantly increased its activity in energy engineering services, the sector in which it grew the most in 2023, already contributing 30% to the company’s overall revenue. Within this context, Constructel Visabeira has been strengthening its position and multiple skills in terms of installation and maintenance of supply networks, renewable energies as well as services and products aimed at increasing energy efficiency, with a strong focus on being a strong pillar in promoting the energy transition. Moreover, business in the telecommunications areas continued to grow in 2023, accounting for around 70% of total revenue.
It should also be noted that the company continues to invest in purchasing companies, enriching its portfolio in geographic terms and strengthening the organisation’s skills. In 2023, Constructel Visabeira expanded its group of companies purchasing Tavan in Germany, positioning itself in the Hamburg region and diversifying its client base by incorporating one of Germany’s largest utilities, EWE. In terms of mobile telecommunications, O+M in France and the telecommunications division of Balfour Beatty in the UK were purchased, thus strengthening Constructel Visabeira’s international position in this strategic sector. In Portugal, as far as the energy sector is concerned, we invested in Arquiled, a company specialising in smart lighting solutions in a partnership with EDP, and in Jayme da Costa, a company with expertise in renewable energies.
Constructel Visabeira’s unique know-how enables it to offer an integrated range of engineering services, including the design, implementation, construction and maintenance of fixed and mobile telecommunications and energy networks, insuring increased growth at an international level. As a result, and increasingly reaffirming its strategy as a transnational company aiming at globalisation, on the 31st of December 2023 Constructel Visabeira included a group of more than 40 companies operating in 10 countries (specifically Portugal, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Republic of Ireland, Spain, Denmark and the United States of America), with more than 6,500 employees.
As a result of this solid foundation and the company’s recognised implementation dynamics, Constructel Visabeira had a portfolio of 4.24 billion euros of services contracted for the coming years, with the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium and Portugal accounting for the majority of the contracts.
This winning strategy is only possible thanks to leadership with a clear vision, combined with the dedication and professionalism of our employees, making Constructel Visabeira a benchmark partner, capable of anticipating clients’ needs and exceeding their expectations. We value our people by promoting an inclusive and stimulating work environment, where ongoing training is an ever-present concern. We believe that the commitment and motivation of our teams are fundamental pillars of our success. It is also important to highlight our commitment to sustainability, as we believe that sustainable development is paramount for the well-being and prosperity of future generations and for the planet, recognising that our long-term success depends on the health and resilience of our entire end-to-end value chain, and that in order to continue to create financial and social value, the interests of all our shareholders must be taken into account. With this in mind, we want sustainability to be part of our activity, both at a strategic and operational level, ensuring that our projects have a positive impact on the communities where we do business.
Next year, we will continue on the path of success achieved, basing our strategy on the macro-trends of the digital and energy transition. We will remain certain that the Constructel Visabeira teams’ motivation and commitment are strong enough to overcome any challenges and hurdles with creativity, competence and assertiveness, in order to always provide the best response and meet our clients’ expectations, surpassing market expectations.
The success achieved by Constructel Visabeira must be shared with all our employees, clients, partners and shareholders, to whom I extend my sincere recognition and gratitude. Each one is paramount to the success which motivates us all.
Looking towards the future, we remain highly optimistic and prepared to face all challenges, believing that with the dedication of our teams and the support of our shareholders, we will continue to achieve extraordinary results.
Nuno Miguel Rodrigues Terras Marques
Chairman of the Board of Directors