Q2 2026 Mota Engil SGPS SA Earnings Call
Speaker #1: And thank you for attending this call where we'll present the first half of 2026 results, the first half-year results after our first capital markets day where we'll present our new strategic plan for the next 5 years with me.
Speaker #1: I have here Mr. Carlos Mota Santos, the Chairman and CEO of the company, and also as usual Mr. Željkaž Nogueira, board member and CFO of the company.
Speaker #1: Please, Carlos.
Speaker #2: Thank you, Pieter. So, welcome to the first half of 2026 results from Motain Geo. It's good to be here, it's good to have this call with you.
Speaker #2: Starting by the slide number 4, in which we have the highlights for the first semester, I would like to stress the turnover in which we reached around 2.0 billion euros.
Speaker #2: That's an increase of 6% when compared with the same period of last year. But more important than that was the growth that we had in terms of profitability, not only in terms of EBITDA, in which we grew year on year 10%, reached an EBITDA margin of 17%.
Speaker #2: So we are maintaining the 70% that we reached in the end of 2025, with almost 500 million euros. But as important as the EBITDA, the net profit after minorities, in which we reached 74 million euros, that is an increase of 24% when compared with the first half of 2025.
Speaker #1: A supportive world in which the Manuel Antonio da Mota Foundation plays a crucial role in fulfilling the Mota-Engil Group's social responsibility policy—this is our strength.
Speaker #2: And that reaches we achieved with this 2.6% margin, in order in the goal of the 3% that we established in the previous business plan of 2026 for the year of 2026.
Speaker #2: Concerning the backlog, I want to stress that we reached by the end of June a very solid backlog of almost 18 billion euros of backlog that represents an increase year on year of 10%, with the end represents also more than 3 times an annual least the turnover of want to stress two things.
Speaker #1: This is our world. MOTA-ENGIL, a world of inspiration. ELIN, euros of backlog that represents an increase year-on-year of 10%, which at the end represents also more than three times an annual turnover—at least the turnover of the last 12 months.
Speaker #2: One, about the backlog, that this backlog does not account with several contracts that in the meantime have been signed between the end of the first half of the year and today, and if we did account with that new contract signed, our backlog would overpass the 20 billion euros.
Speaker #2: So I think it's achieving mark that we reached in terms of backlog. Also, in terms of the net profit, I would like to stress that this net profit of this first half of the year is 2.5 times bigger than the same net profit that we present in the first half of 2023.
Speaker #2: So this is a growth of all over 2.5 times in just 3 years. So I think it illustrates the effort and the commitment that the company has been made in achieving bigger margins in terms of profitability, not only in terms of operational profitability, but also in terms of net profits.
Speaker #2: Looking into the financial figures, looking at the debt, we can see that we reached a net debt of 1.99 billion euros, complying with the net debt over EBITDA that we have the commitment to comply with to be below 2 times.
Speaker #2: And if we compare with last year, we can see that the net debt increased year on year increased from the end of 2025 to the end of the first half of the 2026 in 20 million.
Speaker #2: So the increase was on 20 million. But also, we exclude the debt that comes from the investments in concessions. We would have a decrease of 61 million.
Speaker #2: So the increase that we have of 20 million were mainly due to the investment that we did in terms of concessions, and that we are going to look in details in the next slide.
Speaker #2: Also, I would like to stress that we also comply with our goal in terms of growth depth, to be below 4 times. In terms of growth depth over EBITDA, and also like to stress that as promised in the last in the last calls, our capex is decreasing when compared with the same period of last year, and we are below what we established as the limit to be 7% of the turnover.
Speaker #2: So we reach a capex of 6.4% of the turnover, and as we are going to look ahead, the capex is mainly driven of the African units.
Speaker #2: I will also like to highlight that we reached free cash flow of 159 million euros in this period. That is 33% of free cash flow to EBITDA, remaining that our goal in 2030 that we established in our focus 2030 strategic plan was to be around 25% of free cash flow to EBITDA.
Speaker #2: In terms of equity, we are above the 1 billion euros of equity. That allow us to reach a financial autonomy of 11%, bearing in mind that in the first half of the year we did the payment of the dividends to the shareholders.
Speaker #2: Moving to the second slide, or to slide number 5, sorry. Just to remind, the main event that we reached since the beginning of 2026, and looking into the split of the business that we established in the new strategic plan, we can look we can see in terms of engineering, construction, several contracts that have been awarded.
Speaker #2: I would like to stress the contracts here in Portugal, but also new contracts in our main markets, namely in Mexico, in Peru, and also an extension of our biggest contracts in Nigeria.
Speaker #2: As well, as in concessions, in which we finally signed the contract of the Centro Túnel in Brazil, but also a very important contract that we signed just yesterday in Congo that is the extension of Lobito Corridor.
Speaker #1: I also want to stress two things: one, about the backlog, that this backlog does not account for several contracts that, in the meantime, have been signed between the end of the first half of the year and today. And if we did account for those new contracts signed, our backlog would surpass €20 billion.
Speaker #2: Now in the RC, that is the following infrastructure that connects to our infrastructure that we have 50% stake of the concessions of the Lobito Corridor in Angola.
Speaker #1: So I think it's achieving marks that we reached in terms of backlog. Also, in terms of the net profit, I would like to stress that the net profit for the first half of the year is 2.5 times larger than the net profit we presented in the first half of 2023.
Speaker #2: In terms of natural resources, to stress oil and gas contracts that we have been awarded and we signed in Brazil for Petrobras, an important client of ours.
Speaker #2: The extension of our contract in Ethiopia for our allied gold, and also the incorporation, the setup of a new company that is Motinjil Mining Service that is aligned with our intentions that were established in the focus 2030 strategic plan.
Speaker #1: So this is a growth of over 2.5 times in just three years. So I think it illustrates the effort and the commitment that the company has made in achieving bigger margins in terms of profitability, not only in terms of operational profitability but also in terms of net profits.
Speaker #2: In terms of circularity, I would like to stress the 100 million dollars agreement we did with Trafigura, that is a 40-year sustainability and carbon credits framework in which we are going to produce and to sell under this agreement the production of credit carbons in our projects in Malawi, and also several operations several investments that we are making here in Portugal for biomethane facilities that are starting the operations in the last quarter of this year.
Speaker #1: Looking into the financial figures, looking at the debt, we can see that we reached a net debt of €1.99 billion, complying with the net debt over EBITDA that we have the commitment to comply with, to be below 2 times.
Speaker #1: And if we compare with last year, we can see that net debt increased year-on-year, increasing from the end of 2025 to the end of the first half of 2026, by €20 million.
Speaker #2: In terms of our dimension in financing corporates, some of the main contracts and the main facilities that we signed during the first half, I would like to stress the continuous partnership that we established already in the last year with the IFC from the World Bank, and of course the financial close we reached the financial close with the IFC in the Lobito Corridor in the stretch of Angola.
Speaker #1: So, the increase was on €20 million. But also, if we exclude the debt that comes from the investments in concessions, we would have a decrease of €61 million.
Speaker #1: So the increase that we have of $20 million was mainly due to the investment that we did in terms of concessions, and that we are going to look at in detail in the next slide.
Speaker #2: And also in terms of ESG, we are continue to be recognized as an excellence in terms of excellence of our operations, and this has been achieved with the branding and the recognition of several institutions like Total and like Vulcan, one important player of ours, and others.
Speaker #1: Also, I would like to stress that we are complying with our goal in terms of net debt, to remain below four times net debt over EBITDA.
Speaker #1: And also, I would like to stress that, as promised in the last calls, our capex is decreasing when compared with the same period last year, and we are below what we established as the limit to be 7% of turnover. So we reached a capex of 6.4% of turnover.
Speaker #2: So now, I pass again I will pass again the presentation to Pedro Reis in which we'll detail the results overview, and I'll come back for the final remarks and also for the guidance of 2026 before we can answer some questions that you might have.
Speaker #2: Thank you.
Speaker #1: Thank you, Carlos. We will move now to the slide 7. And here you can see that we achieved in the first half of 2026 the very successful period when we achieved a record level of the turnover and EBITDA, and showing also an improvement with the in the net financials, with the reduction of in this first semester of the year, also a positive evolution in associated debt combined allow us to achieved an improve of 24% year on year in the net profit of the company.
Speaker #1: And as we are going to look ahead, the capex is mainly driven by the African units. I would also like to highlight that we reached free cash flow of €159 million in this period. That is 33% of free cash flow to EBITDA, remembering that our goal for 2030, which we established in our Focus 2030 strategic plan, was to be around 25% of free cash flow to EBITDA.
Speaker #1: In terms of equity, we are above €1 billion of equity, which allows us to reach a financial autonomy of 11%, bearing in mind that in the first half of the year we made the payment of dividends to the shareholders.
Speaker #1: As Carlos said, we want to go even higher in the liquid margin, in the net margin, to achieve during the first half of 2026, and in the full year margin of 3%.
Speaker #1: Moving to the second slide, or to slide number 5, sorry. Just to remind, the main event that we've reached since the beginning of 2026, and looking into the split of the business that we established in the new strategic plan, we can see, in terms of engineering and construction, several contracts that have been awarded.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 8, and detailing the performance here by each business unit, we can highlight the resilient margin in Europe, despite the reduction of activity, the positive growth of in Africa with 11% year on year, impacted by two positive factors, a better efficiency in the EC business, and the continue increase of the contribution in the industrial engineering leading the EBITDA margin in Africa to 25%, a very impressive margin in the region.
Speaker #1: I would like to stress the contracts here in Portugal, but also new contracts in our main markets, namely in Mexico and Peru, as well as an extension of our biggest contract in Nigeria.
Speaker #1: As well as in concessions, in which we finally signed the contract for the Centro Túnel in Brazil, but also a very important contract that we signed just yesterday in Congo—that is, the extension of the Lobito Corridor, now in the RC. That is the following infrastructure that connects to our infrastructure, where we have a 50% stake in the concessions of the Lobito Corridor in Angola.
Speaker #1: Also, looking to LATAM and the performance is mainly explained by a positive contribution from Mexico and with Brazil more than double the contribution for the turnover, sustaining the operational margins in line with historical performance in the region.
Speaker #1: And finally, with the positive performance of the environmental businesses, especially with improvement of the EBITDA margin in the business of 2% year on year.
Speaker #1: In terms of natural resources, I want to stress the oil and gas contracts that we have been awarded and signed in Brazil for Petrobras, an important client of ours.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 9, here you can see the backlog of the company. Not only the evolution, but the detailed information by geographies and also by segments of the EC backlog, and the first highlight that I would like to mention is the increase of the backlog by 4.1 billion euros, an achievement that represents the most successful semester in new awards in our company, something that allows Motinjil to achieve a new record level of 17.7 billion euros.
Speaker #1: The extension of our contract in Ethiopia for Allied Gold, and also the incorporation, the setup of a new company, that is MOTA-ENGIL Mining Service—that is aligned with our intentions that were established in the Focus 2030 strategic plan.
Speaker #1: In terms of circularity, I would like to stress the $100 million agreement we did with Trafigura. That is a 40-year sustainability and carbon credits framework in which we are going to produce and to sell, under this agreement, the production of carbon credits in our projects in Malawi. Also, there are several operations and investments that we are making here in Portugal for biomethane facilities that are starting operations in the last quarter of this year.
Speaker #1: Also important to consider that in these 17.7 is not included the 2.5 billion euros of new contract signed after June. As you can see here in this slide, we maintain our commercial strategy focused on the core markets that represents nowadays 75% of the total of EC backlog, and in this sense we are guaranteeing a visible and positive outlook for the next three to four years, and preparing the future to accomplish the targets that the company presented last March in the strategic plan.
Speaker #1: In terms of our dimension in financing corporates, some of the main contracts and the main facilities that we signed during the first half, I would like to stress the continuous partnership that we established already in the last year with the IFC from the World Bank, and of course the financial clause we reached the financial clause with the FC in the Lobito Corridor in the stretch of Angola.
Speaker #1: And also in terms of ESG, we are continuing to be recognized as an excellence in terms of excellence of our operations, and this has been achieved with the branding and the recognition of several institutions like Total and like Vulcan, one important player of ours, and others.
Speaker #1: Move to slide 10. We will not elaborate on that. We can see here the major contract of EC projects, and we listed only the contracts above 200 billion euros, and we can see that the commercial strategy allow us to be awarded in markets very important for the company, like Mexico, Angola, Nigeria, and Brazil has the most relevant in this list.
Speaker #1: So now, I will pass the presentation again to Pedro Reis, who will detail the results overview, and I'll come back for the final remarks and also for the guidance for 2026 before we can answer some questions that you might have.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 11, we can see here the evolution of the CAPEX, and in the first half of 2026, Motinjil made an investment of 185 million euros, representing less than 7% of the turnover and allowing the company to promote growth with a very selective criteria for the new investment and focused in the segments of higher margins like such as the industrial engineering as the most relevant example, representing here 63% of the total CAPEX allocated during the first half of 2026.
Speaker #1: Thank you.
Speaker #2: Thank you, Carlos. We will now move to slide 7. Here you can see that we achieved, in the first half of 2026, a very successful period when we reached a record level of turnover and EBITDA, and also showed an improvement within the net financials, with a reduction in this first semester of the year. Also, a positive evolution in associated debts combined to allow us to achieve an improvement of 24% year on year in the net profit of the company.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 12, and we can see here regarding the financial CAPEX, so dedicated to the concessions as Carlos mentioned before, we invested 81 million euros, and balanced in several projects with the majority in concessional assets in Mexico, in which the company expect to promote the asset rotation in the next years, beginning in 2027, and considering the life cycle of each project.
Speaker #2: As Carlos said, we want to go even higher in the liquid margin, in the net margin, to achieve, during the first half of 2026 and in the full year of 2026, a net margin of 3%.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 8, and detailing the performance here by each business unit, we can highlight the resilient margin in Europe despite the reduction of activity, the positive growth in Africa with 11% year on year, impacted by two positive factors: better efficiency in the EC business and the continued increase of the contribution in industrial engineering, leading the EBITDA margin in Africa to 25%, a very impressive margin in the region.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 13, and in first hand, we can see here the net debt broadly stable, with a 20 million euros increase as Carlos mentioned with we were focused in investing in new opportunities in concessions.
Speaker #1: If we exclude the financial CAPEX, we reduce the 61 million euros, but as you can see here in the balance sheet, in our left, the financial investments evolution reflects the build-up stage in the concessions portfolio and the asset maturation phase that will deliver in the future capital gains as we delivered in the recent years, mainly in Mexico.
Speaker #2: Also, looking to LATAM, the performance is mainly explained by a positive contribution from Mexico, with Brazil more than doubling its contribution to turnover, sustaining the operational margins in line with historical performance in the region.
Speaker #2: And finally, with the positive performance of the environmental businesses, especially with the improvement of the EBITDA margin in the business of 2% year on year.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 14, we can see here the waterfall graphic when you can see in this slide the positive evolution in terms of the free cash flow and I would like to highlight here the ratio of free cash flow over EBITDA of 33% that represents three times more than the average of free cash flow that we deliver during the period of 2021-2025.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 9, here you can see the backlog of the company. Not only the evolution, but the detailed information by geographies and also by segments of the EC backlog, and the first highlight that I would like to mention is the increase of the backlog by 4.1 billion euros, an achievement that represents the most successful semester in new awards, in our company, something that allows MOTA-ENGIL to achieve a new record level of 17.7 billion euros.
Speaker #1: You can see here that the company are very focused not only in generating more a higher operational profitability, but converting EBITDA cash conversion and this first half of 2026 is a very good example on that.
Speaker #2: It's also important to consider that, in this €17.7 billion, we have not included the €2.5 billion of new contracts signed after June. As you can see here in this slide, we maintain our commercial strategy focused on the core markets, which now represent 75% of the total EC backlog. In this sense, we are guaranteeing a visible and positive outlook for the next three to four years and preparing for the future to accomplish the targets that the company presented last March in the strategic plan.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 15, as Carlos mentioned, very briefly, slide improvement on the races of net debt to EBITDA and gross debt to EBITDA, in line with our strategic plan, very disciplined, and in line with what will be the targets for the next five years that is below two times net debt to EBITDA and four times the gross debt to EBITDA.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 16, here I would like to highlight the very comfortable figure in terms of the liquidity position of 1.4 billion, when we compare to the 895 million that we presented in the first half of 2025, with maturities with less than one year the company is having here surpassing the non-revolving financial installments over the next three years, and with debt maturity to 2.8 years, and of course important to highlight here the work done by our financial team when we reduce the average cost that improved from 7.6% in the first half of 2025 to 7.1% in the first half of 2026, and this figure reflects the mix of local currency debt nowadays with roughly 13% of the total debt denominated in soft currency, and as you know, these currency of course has always higher rates comparing to Europe.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 10. We will not elaborate on that. We can see here the major contracts of EC projects, and we listed only the contracts above €200 million. We can see that the commercial strategy allowed us to be awarded contracts in very important markets for the company, like Mexico, Angola, Nigeria, and Brazil, which is the most relevant in this list.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 11, we can see here the evolution of the CAPEX, and in the first half of 2026, MOTA-ENGIL made an investment of 185 million euros, representing less than 7% of the turnover and allowing the company to promote growth with a very selective criteria for the new investment and focused in the segments of higher margins like such as the industrial engineering as the most relevant example, representing here 63% of the total CAPEX allocated during the first half of 2026.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 20, when we can see here the information regarding the business units and starting by the European division of engineering construction, you can see here the negative impacts is mainly related with the delays of the project consignations that we are considering to begin in execution this year, but even with this impact the company maintain the capacity to be aligned with historical margins of 8%.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 12, we can see here regarding the financial CAPEX, so dedicated to the concessions as Carlos mentioned before, we invested €81 million, balanced in several projects with the majority in concessional assets in Mexico, in which the company expects to promote the asset rotation in the next years, beginning in 2027 and considering the life cycle of each project.
Speaker #1: Looking to the future, we can see here the last bullet of this slide, we expect new tenders in the Portuguese markets considering the public announcements in the recent months that creates a pipeline of 60 billion euros in projects with the dimension that fits with Mountain Giro.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 13, and at first hand, we can see here the net debt broadly stable, with a €20 million increase as Carlos mentioned, as we were focused on investing in new opportunities in concessions.
Speaker #2: If we exclude the financial CAPEX, we reduce the €61 million, but as you can see here in the balance sheet, on our left, the financial investments evolution reflects the build-up stage in the concessions portfolio and the asset maturation phase that will deliver, in the future, capital gains as we delivered in recent years, mainly in Mexico.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 22, moving to Africa, and as I mentioned before with the growth of 11% year on year in turnover and 12% in EBITDA, here is an important to mention the positive and very solid performance in core markets like Nigeria and Angola, as the most relevant markets for the positive performance in this first half of 2026.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 14, we can see here the waterfall graphic. You can see in this slide the positive evolution in terms of free cash flow, and I would like to highlight here the ratio of free cash flow over EBITDA of 33%, which represents three times more than the average free cash flow that we delivered during the period of 2021–2025.
Speaker #1: In Africa, and also with the industrial engineering showing a very important contribution namely the sustainable margin of 29% in EBITDA margin that allow the region as an all to achieve an impressive margin of 25%.
Speaker #1: Also important to mention the recent contract signed namely the extension of the Kanomaradi in Nigeria, 655 million dollars, and the contract signed yesterday by our vice president and deputy CEO Manuel Mota, to operate PPP for 30 years the extension of the Lubito corridor in DRC, a very relevant milestone to operate the most important logistic corridor in the continent.
Speaker #2: You can see here that the company are very focused not only on generating higher operational profitability, but also on converting EBITDA to cash. Cash conversion in this first half of 2026 is a very good example of that.
Speaker #1: For last, also important to comment the recognition of several financial institutions being the North American DIC as the most recent example supporting the financial close to such an important project in the sub-Saharan region that is the Lubito corridor.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 15, as Carlos mentioned, very briefly, slight improvement on the ratios of net debt to EBITDA and gross debt to EBITDA, in line with our strategic plan—very disciplined, and in line with what will be the targets for the next 5 years, that is, below 2 times net debt to EBITDA and 4 times gross debt to EBITDA.
Speaker #1: In slide 23, we can see and moving to the slide dedicated to the contract mining, we can see here the list of the 10 contracts that are at full capacity, with recent renovation in Ethiopia, a guaranteeing the expected growth in this specific area, that will have in this third quarter of 2026 the starting production of the contract in Armenia, and of course with a higher and visible figure of the turnover in 2027 with the contribution from the contract with Al-Musara in Armenia.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 16, here I would like to highlight the very comfortable figure in terms of the liquidity position of €1.4 billion, when we compare it to the €895 million that we presented in the first half of 2025. With maturities of less than 1 year, the company is here surpassing the non-revolving financial installments over the next 3 years, and with debt maturity at 2.8 years. And of course, it's important to highlight here the work done by our financial team when we reduced the average cost, which improved from 7.6% in the first half of 2025 to 7.1% in the first half of 2026. And this figure reflects the mix of local currency debt, nowadays with roughly 13% of the total debt denominated in soft currency, and as you know, these currencies, of course, always have higher rates compared to Europe.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 25 in LATAM, we can see here an increase of turnover in 7% year on year, impacted as I mentioned with the positive performance in Mexico, and the increased of 89% year on year of the other markets in the South American region, highlighting the performance in Brazil that more than double the turnover in a market where Mountain Giro Group expect to build relevant markets with dimension supported in the 2 billion euros of recent contracts awarded in this market, and with local partnerships to consider new opportunities regarding the huge potential of PPP in the market.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 20, when we can see here the information regarding the business units, and starting by the European division of Engineering Construction, you can see here the negative impacts are mainly related to the delays of the project consignations that we are considering to begin execution this year. But even with this impact, the company maintained the capacity to be aligned with historical margins of 8%.
Speaker #1: In this sense, the strategy is simple, continue to identify new opportunities in the Mexican markets, that has been the most important market in the region, and for the group in the last three years in engineering construction, but having a more balanced contribution from each market in the region starting with the new cycle of development in Brazil.
Speaker #2: Looking to the future, we can see here the last bullet of this slide. We expect new tenders in the Portuguese markets, considering the public announcements in recent months that create a pipeline of €60 billion in projects with a dimension that fits with MOTA-ENGIL.
Speaker #1: Moving to slide 27, moving to the environmental business, we can see here that the performance is aligned with the expectations, with the EBITDA margin increasing 2% to 21%, accumulated the first six months of the year, and impacted by the positive performance in all the segments between waste collection, treatment, and also the international companies.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 22, moving to Africa, and as I mentioned before with the growth of 11% year-on-year in turnover and 12% in EBITDA, here it is important to mention the positive and very solid performance in core markets like Nigeria and Angola, as the most relevant markets for the positive performance in this first half of 2026.
Speaker #1: Important to mention that in this area the waste-to-value strategy will start to have the first visible activity with the beginning of the biomethane production in Portugal already in 2026.
Speaker #1: For last, and moving to the slide 29, we can see here the contribution from Mountain Giro Capital and Next and beginning for the from the turnover, we have here a flat evolution year on year, and with a stable margins, executing the backlog of each company here in the energy, mobility, real estate business.
Speaker #2: In Africa, and also with the industrial engineering showing a very important contribution, namely the sustainable margin of 29% in EBITDA margin, that allows the region as a whole to achieve an impressive margin of 25%.
Speaker #1: Important to highlight here that the most relevant impact and positive impact in this areas should start in the medium term, considering the execution stage where we are at this moment with the construction of the new Lisbon hospital and the beginning in the second half of 2026 with the works of the first stretch of the high-speed train in Portugal.
Speaker #2: It's also important to mention the recent contracts signed, namely the extension of the Kano-Maradi in Nigeria, $655 million, and the contract signed yesterday by our Vice President and Deputy CEO, Manuel Mota, to operate a PPP for 30 years for the extension of the Lobito Corridor in the DRC—a very relevant milestone to operate the most important logistic corridor on the continent.
Speaker #1: In pipeline, as you can see here, and considering the recent announcements in Portugal, Mountain Giro will be, as usual, very active in the markets, and in all major PPP projects that will be launched in Portugal in the upcoming years.
Speaker #2: Lastly, it is also important to mention the recognition of several financial institutions, with the North American DIC as the most recent example, supporting the financial close of such an important project in the sub-Saharan region, which is the Lobito Corridor.
Speaker #1: And now, final, moving to the final remarks. Guidance, please, Carlos.
Speaker #2: Thank you, Pedro. So, looking into the slide number 31 for the final remarks, as already mentioned, we announced our new strategic plan focused 2030 back in March of this year, that establish the path towards the year 2030 and the goals that we want to reach there.
Speaker #2: In slide 23, we can see—and moving to the slide dedicated to contract mining—we can see here the list of the 10 contracts that are at full capacity, with recent renovation in Ethiopia, guaranteeing the expected growth in this specific area. That will have, in this third quarter of 2026, the starting production of the contract in Armenia, and of course, with a higher and visible figure of the turnover in 2027 with the contribution from the contract with Al-Musara in Armenia.
Speaker #2: And we establish in that strategic plan three main pillars to sustain our strategy. The first pillar that is growth, and we can see that in terms of this first half of the year, we had a profitable growth in this period, our turnover increased 6%, our EBITDA margin increased 10%, maintaining same level of 17% that we reach in the end of last year, and as important of that, as that, we grew our net profit after minorities almost 25% when compared with the same period of last year.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 25, in LATAM, we can see here an increase of turnover by 7% year on year, impacted as I mentioned by the positive performance in Mexico, and the increase of 89% year on year in the other markets in the South American region, highlighting the performance in Brazil, which more than doubled the turnover in a market where MOTA-ENGIL Group expects to build a relevant market with dimension, supported by the €2 billion of recent contracts awarded in this market, and with local partnerships to consider new opportunities regarding the huge potential of PPP in the market.
Speaker #2: We achieved a record backlog of 17.7 billion euros, so we are today supported in a very robust, very sound, very profitable backlog that give us the visibility for next years, and the capacity to execute the plan that we establish our strategic plan according with our best expectations.
Speaker #2: But at the same time, and as saw as the new contracts that we sign this last two months, we are leaving a very strong commercial momentum.
Speaker #2: And not only here in Portugal, as Pedro has mentioned, but I would say in every market that we operate, not only in Africa, not only in Latin America, but we are leaving this in terms of infrastructure, in terms of engineering infrastructure, in terms of circularity, in terms of natural resources.
Speaker #2: In this sense, the strategy is simple: continue to identify new opportunities in the Mexican markets, which has been the most important market in the region and for the group in the last three years in engineering construction, but also aim for a more balanced contribution from each market in the region, starting with the new cycle of development in Brazil.
Speaker #2: So we are leaving today and studying several opportunities that will further enhance our backlog, but always with the same commercial policy and the same commercial strategy.
Speaker #2: Moving to slide 27 and the environmental business, we can see here that the performance is aligned with expectations, with the EBITDA margin increasing 2% to 21% accumulated over the first six months of the year, and impacted by the positive performance in all the segments, including waste collection, treatment, and also the international companies.
Speaker #2: Long-term contracts with high profit with higher margins, with the profile in terms of generation of cash flow according with our intentions. The second pillar is diversification.
Speaker #2: So the second strategic pillar is aims at the industrial engineering, that is one of our main focus, and now in terms of contract mining, we are aiming to stabilize our operation in terms of volume.
Speaker #2: It's important to mention that in this area, the waste-to-value strategy will begin to have its first visible activity, with the start of biomethane production in Portugal already scheduled for 2026.
Speaker #2: Last year, we almost reached 800 million euros of turnover. This first half of the year, we overpassed the 400 million, so we are going to stabilize with our pipeline with our portfolio of contracts, 11 contracts, and now our focus is to improve even more the efficiency of the contracts so that we increase the profitability.
Speaker #2: For last, and moving to the slide 29, we can see here the contribution from MOTA-ENGIL Capital and Next, and beginning for the from the turnover we have here a flat evolution year on year, and with a stable margins, executing the backlog of each company here in the energy, mobility, real estate important to highlight here, that the most relevant impact and positive impact in this areas should start in the medium term, considering the execution stage where we are at this moment with the construction of the new Lisbon hospital and the beginning in the second half of 2026 with the works of the first stretch of the high-speed train in Portugal.
Speaker #2: At the same time, we want to give more visibility to this activity and therefore the creation of Mountain Giro mining services that we already mentioned.
Speaker #2: Concessions are increasingly reinforcing the group's long-term value creation, so this is one of the key highlights in our strategic plan so that we are more and more focus in several concessions in our main markets, in our strategic markets, Latin America, Mexico, and Brazil mainly, here in Portugal of course, but also in Africa and that the example of the signing of Lobito Corridor stretch in TRC yesterday is the best example that we could give.
Speaker #2: In the pipeline, as you can see here, and considering the recent announcements in Portugal, MOTA-ENGIL will be, as usual, very active in the markets and in all major PPP projects that will be launched in Portugal in the upcoming years.
Speaker #2: And at the same time, we are investing in new circularity investments, namely the biomethane and that was mentioned by Pedro, in our ways to value strategy, but also in our agroforestry projects in Africa our portfolio of long-term cash generation activities.
Speaker #2: And now, moving to the final remarks. Guidance, please, Carlos.
Speaker #2: Last but not the least, in terms of the strategic pillars, the financial discipline, in which we establish very concrete and very, very sound objectives in 2030, in which we will maintain our leverage discipline, complying with the net debt over EBITDA ratio of being below two times, the growth debt over EBITDA ratio below four times, and always supported by active debt portfolio management, focusing on increasing the maturities and reducing the financial costs.
Speaker #1: Thank you, Pedro. So, looking at slide number 31 for the final remarks—as already mentioned, we announced our new strategic plan, Focused 2030, back in March of this year. That establishes the path toward the year 2030 and the goals that we want to reach there.
Speaker #1: And we established in that strategic plan three main pillars to sustain our strategy. The first pillar is growth, and we can see that, in terms of this first half of the year, we had profitable growth in this period.
Speaker #2: Our free cash flow of almost 160 million euros that we generated during the first six months of the year represented 33% of the EBITDA, and it demonstrates the strong underlying cash generation that is underneath our operations, and also is important to stress that is three times higher than the average of the last five years.
Speaker #1: Our turnover increased 6%, our EBITDA margin increased 10%, maintaining the same level of 17% that we reached at the end of last year, and, as important as that, we grew our net profit after minorities almost 25% when compared with the same period last year.
Speaker #1: We achieved a record backlog of €17.7 billion, so we are today supported by a very robust, very sound, very profitable backlog that gives us visibility for the next years, and the capacity to execute the plan that we established—our strategic plan—in accordance with our best expectations.
Speaker #2: So if we compare 2021 to 2025, you'll see that the generation of free cash flow is three times lower than the one that we presented in the first half of this year.
Speaker #2: Always with a robust liquidity, so as you could see in the previous slide, we have today a very sound and very secure position in terms of liquidity that will provide us the financial flexibility and support our growth strategy and the future investment requirements that we have in order to fulfill that strategy.
Speaker #1: But at the same time, and as far as the contracts that we signed these last two months, we are leaving a very strong commercial momentum.
Speaker #2: Always with the same discipline capital allocation, that we've been delivering in the last quarters, in the last years, in which our capex will be always below 7% of the turnover, in order to fulfill the focus 2030 target that we established.
Speaker #1: And not only here in Portugal, as Pedro has mentioned, but I would say in every market that we operate—not only in Africa, not only in Latin America—but we are living this in terms of infrastructure, in terms of engineering infrastructure, in terms of circularity, in terms of natural resources.
Speaker #2: Moving to the last slide before we can go to the Q&A session, the guidance for the end of this year. So what can we expect for the end of 2026?
Speaker #1: So we are leaving today and studying several opportunities that will further enhance our backlog, but always with the same commercial policy and the same commercial strategy.
Speaker #2: As we said in the presentation of the year of 2025, we are going to have a growth this year, unlike 2025 that we didn't grow.
Speaker #1: Long-term contracts with high profit, with higher margins, with the profile in terms of generation of cash flow according to our intentions. The second pillar is diversification.
Speaker #2: In 2026, we'll have a double-digit growth, so we'll expect to grow above 10%, supported by the backlog that I just mentioned. The EBITDA levels will remain at 17% level, so we establish a goal to comply to be equal or above 17% in terms of EBITDA margins, but in terms of net profit, we will increase when compared with 2025, so we will be around 3%.
Speaker #1: So, the second strategic pillar is aimed at industrial engineering—that is one of our main focuses. And now, in terms of contract mining, we are aiming to stabilize our operation in terms of volume.
Speaker #1: Last year, we almost reached €800 million of turnover. In this first half of the year, we surpassed €400 million, so we are going to stabilize with our pipeline, with our portfolio of contracts—11 contracts—and now our focus is to improve even more the efficiency of the contracts so that we increase the profitability.
Speaker #2: That's as a reminder, it was the goal that we established in the previous strategic plan, building 2026, to reach 3% of net profit by the end of this year of 2026.
Speaker #2: Always with this strong operation cash generation, and the discipline in terms of finance and the leverage of our debt. And as well, as a discipline and return-driven capital allocation, with the capex below 7%, that was mainly done, the capex this first half of the year, in this last mine of Armenia, like was mentioned previously.
Speaker #1: At the same time, we want to give more visibility to these activities and therefore the creation of Mota-Engil Mining Services, which we already mentioned.
Speaker #1: Concessions are increasingly reinforcing the group's long-term value creation, so this is one of the key highlights in our strategic plan. We are more and more focusing several concessions in our main markets—in our strategic markets: Latin America, Mexico, and Brazil mainly, here in Portugal of course, but also in Africa. The example of the signing of the Lobito Corridor stretch in TRC yesterday is the best example that we could give.
Speaker #2: At the same time, to finalize, we'll continue to have an active management of our concession portfolio, it is part of our strategy to continue to have the rotation of our concession portfolio at the same time that we start to build a new long-term platform for the future and for this is important some of the projects that today are in the commercial stage.
Speaker #1: And at the same time, we are investing in new circularity initiatives, namely biomethane—as mentioned by Pedro in our Ways to Value strategy—as well as in our agroforestry projects in Africa, which will further broaden our portfolio of long-term cash generation activities.
Speaker #2: So thank you for your attention, and we are now ready for your questions. Thank you.
Speaker #1: Ladies and gentlemen, the Q&A session starts now. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press star followed by five on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #1: Last but not least, in terms of the strategic pillars, is financial discipline, in which we establish very concrete and very sound objectives for 2030, in which we will maintain our leverage discipline: complying with the net debt over EBITDA ratio of being below 2 times, the gross debt over EBITDA ratio below 4 times, and always supported by active debt portfolio management, focusing on increasing the maturities and reducing the financial costs.
Speaker #1: Our first question, comes from Miguel González Toquero, from JB Capital. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: Yes, hi, good afternoon. Thank you for the presentation and for taking my questions. Three on my side, please. First of all, on your newly incorporated mining division, my question here is now that is established and it seems all the mines are reaching their ramp-up up period, whether you could consider to spin off this division or bring a minority partner?
Speaker #3: Also, you mentioned the renewal of Kormuk Gold Mine. I believe you have three mining contracts expiring between this year and next, so maybe you can add some visibility on how negotiations are evolving.
Speaker #1: Our free cash flow of almost €160 million that we generated during the first six months of the year represented 33% of EBITDA, and it demonstrates the strong underlying cash generation that is underneath our operations. Also, it is important to stress that this is three times higher than the average of the last five years.
Speaker #3: Secondly, on bombing project in Brazil, it seems you are closer to reaching an agreement, so maybe you could provide some visibility also on this, and how these negotiations are going, whether you are bidding for the whole project or you could bring any other partner in board.
Speaker #3: And maybe your expectations on how you will finance all these works. And lastly, on your guidance for the year, sales grew by only 6% in the first half, implying that to reach your growth guidance, sales will increase by at least 15% in the second half.
Speaker #1: So, if we compare 2021 to 2025, you'll see that the generation of free cash flow is three times lower than the one we presented in the first half of this year.
Speaker #1: Always with robust liquidity. As you could see in the previous slide, we have today a very sound and secure position in terms of liquidity. This will provide us with the financial flexibility to support our growth strategy, as well as the future investment requirements we have in order to fulfill that strategy.
Speaker #3: Maybe you could elaborate a little bit on this, in which geographies or activities we should see such an acceleration, and how likely is that you reach the top end of this guidance, and whether achieving this depends on the reactivation of works in Portugal.
Speaker #3: Thank you.
Speaker #4: So thank you very much
Speaker #2: for your questions. So let me, first of all, starting by the guidance for 2026. I was making I had I was saying a mistake because we are going to reach the end of 2026 with 18 at least 18% EBITDA margin.
Speaker #1: Always with the same disciplined capital allocation that we've been delivering in the last quarters, in the last years, in which our capex will always be below 7% of turnover, in order to fulfill the Focus 2030 target that we established.
Speaker #2: So we reached 17% in the first half, so last year in the end of 2025 was 18%, and will maintain all over past 18%.
Speaker #1: Moving to the last slide before we go to the Q1A session, this is the guidance for the end of the year. So, what can we expect for the end of 2026?
Speaker #2: Concerning your question, yes, it's true that we only grew 6% year on year on the second half on the first half of 2026, so we can expect a very strong second half of 20 of this year, that is sustained in the backlog that we presented.
Speaker #1: As we said in the presentation for the year 2025, we are going to have growth this year, unlike 2025 when we didn't grow.
Speaker #1: In 2026, we'll have double-digit growth, so we expect to grow above 10%, supported by the backlog that I just mentioned. The EBITDA levels will remain at the 17% level, so we have established a goal to comply to be equal to or above 17% in terms of EBITDA margins. In terms of net profit, we will increase when compared with 2025, so we will be around 3%.
Speaker #2: And we reinforced our expectations for the end of this year in terms of growth above the 10% that is expressed here in our guidance.
Speaker #2: Concerning the questions that you did about the mining activity, and starting by bombing, let me very be very clear with bombing because a lot of people make questions about bombing.
Speaker #2: Bombing alongside with several projects that we are looking and studying in our pipeline, it's just one more project. Of course, that is a very big project, and yes, it's true that we are studying the project because it's public that we had meetings with the authorities, so it doesn't we need to say what is true and the truth is that we are studying to the project.
Speaker #1: That's as a reminder, it was the goal that we established in the previous strategic plan, building 2026, to reach 3% of net profit by the end of this year, of 2026.
Speaker #1: Always with this strong operation cash generation, and the discipline in terms of finance and the leverage of our debt. And as well, as a discipline and return-driven capital allocation, with the capex below 7%, that was mainly done, the capex this first half of the year, in this last mine of Armenia, like was mentioned previously.
Speaker #2: Of course, this is a big project, and therefore we are looking in a very disciplined way to the project, studying the engineering of the project, the investment that needs to be made in the process, and the feasibility of the project.
Speaker #2: That being said, of course, that if we go ahead with the project that is a decision still to be made because we are in the middle of the studying process, a lot of things has to be done, until we reach a conclusion.
Speaker #1: At the same time, to finalize, we'll continue to have active management of our concession portfolio. It is part of our strategy to continue the rotation of our concession portfolio, while we start to build a new long-term platform for the future. For this, it is important that some of the projects that today are in a commercial stage are considered.
Speaker #2: But if we conclude, of course, that tech conclusion, if positive, has to have several dimensions fulfilled, namely in terms of the quality of the projects, secondly in terms of the profitability of the projects, third in terms of the generation of the cash flow of the project, and fourth, and probably the most important, the feasibility of financing the projects.
Speaker #1: So, thank you for your attention, and we are now ready for your questions. Thank you.
Speaker #2: And therefore, to finance that project, such a dimension, of course, that we need to have partnerships. Partnerships in terms of financing, partnerships in terms of equity, and partnerships in terms of suppliers and also the visibility of having the clients for the product.
Speaker #2: Ladies and gentlemen, the Q&A session starts now. As a reminder, if you wish to ask a question, please press star followed by 5 on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #2: Our first question comes from Miguel González Toquero of JB Capital. Please go ahead.
Speaker #2: So this is a very complex project, it's true. It's a very big project, it's true, but also it's a very interesting project because it reaches several of the activities that we are best in class, namely engineering construction, infrastructure development, infrastructure maintenance and operation, and of course, contract mining.
Speaker #3: Yes, hi. Good afternoon. Thank you for the presentation and for taking my questions. I have three on my side, please. First of all, on your newly incorporated mining division, my question here is: now that it is established, and it seems all the mines are reaching their ramp-up period, could you consider spinning off this division or bringing in a minority partner?
Speaker #2: So this is a very complete project, in which we are studying very carefully with a lot of interest, but that being said, we are in a very early stage.
Speaker #3: Also, you mentioned the renewal of the Kormuk Gold Mine. I believe you have three mining contracts expiring between this year and next, so maybe you could add some visibility on how negotiations are evolving.
Speaker #2: So I hope that I was completely clear on bombing. Concerning the two other questions, the mining division. The mining division is the, I would say, the first step that we the creation of the mining division or the mining company, is the first step of the spin-off of our mining activity.
Speaker #3: Secondly, on the bombing project in Brazil, it seems you are closer to reaching an agreement, so maybe you could provide some visibility also on this, and how these negotiations are going—whether you are bidding for the whole project or if you could bring any other partner on board.
Speaker #2: That is actually expressed in our strategic plan, in focus 2030. The first reason that we want to do that is to give more visibility to our mining contract mining activities, so that the investors and the markets can understand even better what is our strategy, but most important, what is our performance.
Speaker #3: And maybe your expectations on how you will finance all these works. And lastly, on your guidance for the year: sales grew by only 6% in the first half, implying that, to reach your growth guidance, sales will need to increase by at least 15% in the second half.
Speaker #2: Concerning your question, if we are going to open or not the capital, that is a possibility. I cannot tell you that we are going to do or not, because we are still finalizing the first step, that is the spin-off of the activities, and the creation of this new company.
Speaker #3: Maybe you could elaborate a little bit on this: in which geographies or activities should we see such an acceleration, and how likely is it that you'll reach the top end of this guidance? Also, does achieving this depend on the reactivation of works in Portugal?
Speaker #3: Thank you.
Speaker #2: The second question that you made me I have to be I have to ask you to repeat again, because I'm not really sure if I understood correctly about Cormuc.
Speaker #4: So thank you very much for your questions. So let me, first of all, starting by the guidance for 2026. I was making I had I was saying a mistake because we are going to reach the end of 2026 with 18 at least 18% EBITDA margin.
Speaker #3: Yeah, yeah, thank you, it was very clear. I was just wanted to know, I believe you have three different mining contracts expiring one this year and two next year, I believe.
Speaker #4: So we reached 17% in the first half. Last year, at the end of 2025, it was 18%, and we will maintain at or above 18% going forward.
Speaker #3: So maybe you can add some visibility on how negotiations are.
Speaker #2: No, no, Cormuc. Cormuc, Cormuc, that is the supplies contract. We already started the operations. And the last one that is in Armenia, the operations are already being started, so it will be in full ramp-up by the end of 2026.
Speaker #4: Concerning your question, yes, it's true that we only grew 6% year-on-year in the second half compared to the first half of 2026, so we can expect a very strong second half of this year that is sustained by the backlog that we presented.
Speaker #2: I hope that I. And your thoughts.
Speaker #3: Yeah, and I believe there were two different mining contracts. One was called Moatis Mine, and TRA as well, Gold Mines. I believe they were expiring this year and this year.
Speaker #4: And we reinforced our expectations for the end of this year in terms of growth above the 10% that is expressed here in our guidance.
Speaker #3: I don't know if you are starting negotiating renovation of these contracts.
Speaker #4: Concerning the questions that you had about the mining activity, and starting with bombing, let me be very clear about bombing because a lot of people have questions about bombing.
Speaker #2: Yeah, no, none of the contracts is going to end this year, so all the contracts will be will continue to the following years. All of them are being renovated.
Speaker #4: Bombing, alongside several projects that we are looking at and studying in our pipeline, is just one more project. Of course, that is a very big project, and yes, it's true that we are studying the project because it's public that we had meetings with the authorities. So, we need to say what is true, and the truth is that we are studying the project.
Speaker #3: Understood, very clear, thank you.
Speaker #1: Our next question comes from Felipe Leyte from CaixaBank BPI. Please go ahead.
Speaker #2: Yes, I hello everyone. I have three questions on my side. First one is related with the contract that you announced yesterday in Congo with the 1.8 billion total investment.
Speaker #4: Of course, this is a big project, and therefore we are looking at it in a very disciplined way—studying the engineering of the project, the investment that needs to be made in the process, and the feasibility of the project.
Speaker #2: And if you can share with us the expected execution of this 1.8 billion investment, if it will be made mainly during the first year, three, four, five years of construction period, or if it will be deployed during the 30 years of concession.
Speaker #4: That being said, of course, if we go ahead with the project, that is a decision still to be made, because we are in the middle of the studying process. A lot of things have to be done until we reach a conclusion.
Speaker #2: And from this, what is the equity commitment from your side? And when you will have to deploy this equity? Second question on Brazil, and if you can confirm the news that you are in negotiation for the acquisition of a minority stake in Odebrecht, and if yes, why will you acquire a minority stake in a contracting company in a country where it is Brazil is already a top three region on your backlog?
Speaker #4: But if we conclude, of course, that tech conclusion, if positive, has to have several dimensions fulfilled—namely, in terms of the quality of the project; secondly, in terms of the profitability of the project; third, in terms of the generation of the cash flow of the project; and fourth, and probably the most important, the feasibility of financing the project.
Speaker #2: And third, is a clarification on cash flow of this first half, just to understand if you already collect the 50 million US dollars from Mamaland, the carbon credit agreement that you made, and when you will receive the remaining 50 million to complete, I believe, it's a close to 100 million initial payment.
Speaker #4: And therefore, to finance that project, certain dimensions, of course, we need to have partnerships. Partnerships in terms of financing, partnerships in terms of equity, and partnerships in terms of suppliers, and also the visibility of having the clients for the product.
Speaker #4: So, this is a very complex project, it's true. It's a very big project, that's true, but also, it's a very interesting project because it reaches several of the activities in which we are best in class—namely, engineering construction, infrastructure development, infrastructure maintenance and operation, and of course, contract mining.
Speaker #1: Thank you, Felipe. Thank you for your question. So starting by the second question that I think is the one that is more sounding, about Odebrecht.
Speaker #1: Let me be clear on that. We have been partnering with Odebrecht in several projects, actually, as you as is public, we've been awarded a concession in a consortium with Odebrecht.
Speaker #4: So, this is a very complete project, which we are studying very carefully and with a lot of interest. That being said, we are still in a very early stage.
Speaker #1: And we recognize that Odebrecht is, I would say, the top or one of the best contracting companies in Brazil. So for us, it's very interesting to partner with them.
Speaker #4: So, I hope that I was completely clear on bombing. Concerning the two other questions, the mining division—the mining first step, that we, the creation of the mining division or the mining company, is the first step of the spin-off of our mining activity.
Speaker #1: That being said, we are studying several possibilities, but one thing is clear, Mountain Hill does not make investments equity investments in companies if it's not to be consolidated their activities, because that isn't part of our rationale.
Speaker #4: That is actually expressed in our strategic plan, in Focus 2030. The first reason that we want to do that is to give more visibility to our mining contract mining activities, so that the investors and the markets can understand even better what is our strategy, but most important, what is our performance.
Speaker #1: So we are not going to make any financial investments in any company, namely a construction company. But nevertheless, we are partnering with Odebrecht, yes, it's true, not only in Brazil, but also in some other markets.
Speaker #1: So that is what I have to say about the Odebrecht issue. Concerning the first question that you asked about Congo, the 1.8 billion euros of the contract of the concession contract that we signed yesterday, that is the extension of the Lobito Corridor.
Speaker #4: Concerning your question, whether we are going to open the capital or not, that is a possibility. I cannot tell you that we are going to do it or not, because we are still finalizing the first step, which is the spin-off of the activities and the creation of this new company.
Speaker #4: Regarding the second question that you asked me, I have to ask you to repeat it again, because I'm not really sure if I understood it correctly about Kormuk.
Speaker #1: We are going to make the CAPEX or the execute the CAPEX, the construction contract and the rehabilitation contract in the first years of the concession.
Speaker #2: Yeah. Yeah, thank you,
Speaker #1: So the goal of this investments is to rehabilitate the existing line, to do the construction of several new stretches in order that we have a more robust infrastructure that could allow us to have a more efficient operation.
Speaker #3: It was very clear. I just wanted to know, I believe you have three different mining contracts—one starting this year and two next year, I believe.
Speaker #3: So maybe you can add some visibility on how negotiations are going.
Speaker #4: No, no, Kormuk. Kormuk, that is the last contract. We already started the operations, and the last one that is in Armenia, the operations are already being started, so it will be in full ramp-up by the end of 2026.
Speaker #1: The construction will be made in the first seven years, so basically the rehabilitation and the new construction will be made during the first seven years.
Speaker #1: And the equity will be around 25% of the investment. We already have the agreement for the financing with the FC, is the same entity that financed our project in Angola, so in terms of the financial structure, that is already clear.
Speaker #4: I hope that.
Speaker #3: All right, thank you.
Speaker #4: And your thoughts.
Speaker #3: Yeah, and I believe there were two different mining contracts. One was called Moatis Mine, and TRA as well, Gold Mines. I believe they were expiring this year, and this year.
Speaker #3: I don't know if you are starting to negotiate the renovation of these contracts.
Speaker #4: Yeah, no, none of the contracts is going to end this year, so all the contracts will continue into the following years. All of them are being renewed.
Speaker #1: And that is already agreed with the FC. Concerning the last question that you had about the cash flow of our project of Mamaland, we already received the 100 million euros.
Speaker #3: Understood, very clear. Thank you.
Speaker #1: I think that was the question. Sorry, we received 50% of the so 50 million of the 100 million, we expect to receive the remaining 50 million next year.
Speaker #2: Our next question comes from Felipe Leite from CaixaBank BPI. Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: Yes, hi. Hello, everyone. I have three questions on my side. The first one is related to the contract that you announced yesterday in Congo, with the $1.8 billion total investment.
Speaker #2: Okay, thank you. Just a follow-up on Congo, just to confirm, you have 100% of the contract, right?
Speaker #1: Yes, for the time being, we are the sole shareholder of the concession.
Speaker #3: And if you can share with us the expected execution of this $1.8 billion investment—if it will be made mainly during the first year, three, four, five years of construction period, or if it will be deployed during the 30 years of concession.
Speaker #2: Okay, thank you.
Speaker #1: And it's important to stress that the 1.8 billion euros that we announced is only for the rehabilitation and the construction of new stretches, new infrastructure.
Speaker #3: And from this, what is the equity commitment from your side? And when you will have to deploy this equity? Second question on Brazil, and if you can confirm the news that you are in negotiation for the acquisition of a minority stake in Odebrecht, and if yes, why will you acquire a minority stake in a contracting company in a country where it is Brazil is already a top three region on your backlog?
Speaker #1: The maintenance value along the period of concession, along all the life of the concession, is not included in 1.8, and this is operational maintenance that is underneath the concession contract.
Speaker #1: It is not in EPC contract.
Speaker #2: Okay. Just a final yeah, just a final question on Congo. So when you will have to invest this equity?
Speaker #3: And third is a clarification on cash flow for this first half, just to understand if you have already collected the $50 million from Mamaland, the carbon credit agreement that you made, and when you will receive the remaining $50 million to complete, I believe, it's close to a $100 million initial payment.
Speaker #1: It's going to be party pass. With the deployment of the finance along the seven years. Along the first seven years. Okay? Thank you.
Speaker #2: Ladies and gentlemen, please be reminded that in order to ask a question, you must press star five on your telephone keypad. Our next question comes from Joao Vermelho from Best Invest.
Speaker #4: Thank you, Felipe. Thank you for your question. So, starting with the second question—which I think is the one that is more pressing—about Odebrecht.
Speaker #4: Let me be clear on that. We have been partnering with Odebrecht in several projects. Actually, as is public, we've been awarded a concession in a consortium with Odebrecht.
Speaker #2: Please go ahead.
Speaker #3: Hi, thank you very much. Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, congratulations on this set of results. I have two questions on Africa, if I may.
Speaker #4: And we recognize that Odebrecht is, I would say, the top or one of the best contracting companies in Brazil. So, for us, it's very interesting to partner with them.
Speaker #3: The first one is, I recall that back in the day, margins were in the region of 20%, now they since then they have been increasing quite steadily.
Speaker #4: That being said, we are studying several possibilities. But one thing is clear: Mountain Hill does not make equity investments in companies if it's not to consolidate their activities, because that isn't part of our rationale.
Speaker #3: We are now at 25%. Do you think that is sustainable going forward? Is it because of the nature of the contracts that you have, like bigger mining type of projects?
Speaker #3: Is this the reason? If you could also comment on the competitive landscape in Africa, I would appreciate that. Thank you very much.
Speaker #4: So we are not going to make any financial investments in any company, namely a construction company. But nevertheless, we are partnering with Odebrecht—yes, it's true—not only in Brazil, but also in some other markets.
Speaker #1: Hi Joao. Nice to hear you. Thank you for your question. Look, in terms of contract mining, we are delivering what we were saying last in last years.
Speaker #4: So that is what I have to say about the Odebrecht issue. Concerning the first question that you asked about Congo, the 1.8 billion euros of the contract of the concession contract that we signed yesterday, that is the extension of the Lobito Corridor, we are going to make the capex or the execute the capex, the construction contract and the rehabilitation contract in the first years of the concession.
Speaker #1: Basically, we were going to focus on the increase of profitability and that's why we also call it industrial engineering, because this is a cyclical activity in which has several resemblance with the industrial activity.
Speaker #1: So therefore, there's a lot of synergies along with the operations that we can achieve and therefore convert it into the profitability. So answering very in a very straightforward way, the levels of EBITDA that we reach in this activity are sustainable and we hope even to increase it a little bit in the future.
Speaker #4: So, the goal of these investments is to rehabilitate the existing line and to carry out the construction of several new stretches in order to have a more robust infrastructure that could allow us to operate more efficiently.
Speaker #1: So this is also as to deal with the level of maturity of the contracts. Along with as we execute the contract, we are to achieve better profitabilities and to achieve higher synergies in each of the contracts.
Speaker #4: The construction will be made in the first seven years, so basically the rehabilitation and the new construction will be done during the first seven years.
Speaker #4: And the equity will be around 25% of the investments. We already have the agreement for the financing with the FC—it's the same entity; they financed our project in Angola.
Speaker #1: Concerning the second question, the second question that you made about the competitive environment, in terms of contract mining, we are today one of the top three contract miners in the world and probably the biggest one in Africa.
Speaker #4: So in terms of the financial structure, that is already clear and that is already agreed with the FC. Concerning the last question that you asked about the cash flow of our project of Mamaland, we already received the €100 million.
Speaker #1: So we are we have a very good position, a very strong position. But as important as that, or more important as that, is that our commercial policy in this sector is to be very focused on the clients that we want to work on, first of all.
Speaker #4: I think that was the question. Sorry, we received 50% of the—so €50 million of the €100 million—and we expect to receive the remaining €50 million next year.
Speaker #1: So first tier clients that will allow us to have high margin contracts, large scale contracts, but also with the level of risk that we want to have.
Speaker #1: So contracts in strong currency and contracts that will not bring us problems in terms of payments. So that is the main focus that we have towards the future, as long as well as extending the maturity of the contracts that we are working on currently.
Speaker #3: Okay, thank you. Just a follow-up on Congo—just to confirm, you have 100% of the contract, right?
Speaker #4: Yes, for the time being, we are the sole shareholder of the concession.
Speaker #3: Okay, thank you.
Speaker #4: And it's important to stress that the €1.8 billion that we announced is only for the rehabilitation and the construction of new stretches, new infrastructure.
Speaker #1: I don't know if I answered your question.
Speaker #3: Yes, it was very clear. Just a last one. Do you think the capital intensity of the business in general, and I know that it's pretty much related to Africa, could decrease a little bit to, let's say, the current 7% capex oversales level?
Speaker #4: The maintenance value, along the period of concession, along all the life of the concession, is not included in the 1.8, and this is operational maintenance that is underneath the concession contract.
Speaker #4: It is not in the EPC contract. Okay, Felipe?
Speaker #3: Or will it always require a very high capex?
Speaker #1: We are going our expectation is comply with the level of capex that we established, that is to be below 7% of the turnover.
Speaker #3: Okay. Just a final yeah, just a final question on Congo. So when you will have to invest this equity?
Speaker #4: It's going to be party pass, with the deployment of the finance along the seven years—along the first seven years. Okay?
Speaker #3: Okay, thank you very much.
Speaker #2: Ladies and gentlemen, please be reminded that in order to ask a question, you must press the star key followed by five on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #3: Thank you.
Speaker #4: Thank you.
Speaker #3: Ladies and gentlemen, please be reminded that in order to ask a question, you must press star five on your telephone keypad. Our next question comes from Joao Vermelho from Best Invest.
Speaker #2: There are no further questions at this time, so I will now hand over the session to Carlos Mota Santos, Chairman and CEO of the Mota & Gill Group.
Speaker #3: Please go ahead.
Speaker #1: So once again, I would like to thank you all of you for listening and participating in the first half of 2026 Mota & Gill Group results.
Speaker #5: Hi, thank you very much. Good afternoon to everyone. First of all, congratulations on this set of results. I have two questions on Africa, if I may.
Speaker #5: The first one is, I recall that back in the day, margins were in the region of 20%. Now, since then, they have been increasing quite steadily.
Speaker #1: And I hope to meet you soon and we are very excited for the next semester in which I think that will be part of our growth story and our story of in which we are celebrating this year eight years so for us is very we are very proud of it and we are very committed to continue to have this success story for the future.
Speaker #5: We are now at 25%. Do you think that is sustainable going forward? Is it because of the nature of the contracts that you have?
Speaker #5: Are these bigger mining-type projects? Is this the reason? If you could also comment on the competitive landscape in Africa, I would appreciate that.
Speaker #5: Thank you very much.
Speaker #4: Hi, Joao. Nice to hear from you. Thank you for your question. Look, in terms of contract mining, we are delivering what we have been saying in recent years.
Speaker #4: Basically, we were going to focus on the increase of profitability, and that's why we also call it industrial engineering—cyclical activity which has several resemblances with industrial activity.
Speaker #4: Therefore, there are a lot of synergies along with the operations that we can achieve, which can be converted into profitability. So, to answer in a very straightforward way, the levels of EBITDA that we reach in this activity are sustainable, and we hope even to increase them a little bit in the future.
Speaker #4: So this is also to do with the level of maturity of the contracts. Along with that, as we execute the contracts, we are aiming to achieve better profitability and to realize higher synergies in each of the contracts.
Speaker #4: Concerning the second question—the second question that you made about the competitive environment—in terms of contract mining, we are today one of the top three contract miners in the world, and probably the biggest one in Africa.
Speaker #4: So, we have a very good position, a very strong position. But as important as that, or even more important, is that our commercial policy in this sector is to be very focused on the clients that we want to work with, first of all.
Speaker #4: So, first-tier clients will allow us to have high-margin contracts, large-scale contracts, but also with the level of risk that we want to have.
Speaker #4: So, contracts in strong currencies and contracts that will not bring us problems in terms of payments. That is the main focus that we have towards the future, as well as extending the maturity of the contracts that we are working on currently.
Speaker #4: I'm not sure if I answered your question.
Speaker #5: Yes, it was very clear. Just one last question. Do you think the capital intensity of the business in general—and I know that it's pretty much related to Africa—could decrease a little bit to, let's say, the current 7% capex-over-sales level?
Speaker #5: Or will it always require a very high CAPEX?
Speaker #4: We are, our expectation is to comply with the level of capex that we established, that is to be below 7% of the turnover.
Speaker #5: Okay, thank you very much.
Speaker #3: Ladies and gentlemen, please be reminded that in order to ask a question, you must press the star key followed by five on your telephone keypad.
Speaker #3: There are no further questions at this time, so I will now hand over the session to Carlos Mota Santos, Chairman and CEO of the Mota-Engil Group.
Speaker #4: So once again, I would like to thank all of you for listening and participating in the first half of the 2026 Mota Engil Group results.
Speaker #4: And I hope to meet you soon, and we are very excited for the next semester, which I think will be part of our growth story and our story in which we are celebrating, this year, eight years.
Speaker #4: So, for us, we are very proud of it, and we are very committed to continuing to have this success story for the future.
