COMSA Corporación continued to show sustained growth during 2019 and closed the year with global sales valued at 777 million euros. The Group began to use the equity method in January 2019; hence the billing amount was below 1,101 million euros in 2018 since it did not include the results from Trakcja, its affiliate in Poland. Nevertheless, the comparison of the data with the same consolidation method is 5.8% higher.
COMSA Corporación, which has a customer portfolio of 1,167 million euros, continues to consolidate its core business activity, which represents 97% of its total invoicing. Hence in 2019, the business units of Infrastructures, Industrial Engineering, Maintenance and Services, Concessions and Renewable Energies amounted to 752 million euros. There was a noteworthy increase in the weight of the Engineering portfolio, which grew from 14% to represent 22% of the Group’s total billing for an amount of 185 million euros.
Core Business
The activity linked to railway and civil engineering projects in the national territory continues to have considerable weight in the Group’s turnover and represents 41% of its customer portfolio. Among other work projects, COMSA Corporación is executing two sections of the Mediterranean Corridor between Murcia and Almería, as well as sector 3 of the branch line: Mondragón-Elorrio-Bergara corresponding to the Basque “Y” Line. In reference to civil engineering projects, we highlight that in 2019, the company finished the construction of the Santo Cilia-Puente de la Reina de Jaca section of the Motorway called “Autovía de los Pirineos” (A-21) and the final section of A-62 between Fuentes de Oñoro (Salamanca) and the border with Portugal.
Likewise, the building projects in the national market have stimulated the Company’s private customer portfolio. In this context, we are pleased to announce the building of the Platinum BCN offices complex for the real estate firm, Barcelonesa de Inmuebles, which obtained the LEED certification as the world’s most sustainable building in the office rental category, as well as the execution of a new production plant for the pharmaceutical firm Alter in Meco (Madrid).
In the engineering sector, COMSA Industrial has experienced major growth in its activity with a special focus on the delivery of turnkey projects in the electromechanical field, ITS (Intelligent Traffic System) as well as sophisticated control systems for tunnels, electrification and railway systems. In this sense, the Group has implemented electrical and mechanical installations in the new Johann Cruyff stadium for FC Barcelona and the new Winery facility of the Peralada Group; it has supplied and commissioned the traffic control systems for the tunnels of Ronda de Dalt in Barcelona and it has built the overhead contact line of the Antequera – Granada section of the High-Speed Train line between Madrid and the Andalusian city, among other work projects.
At the international level, the Company continues its expansion in the strategic markets of Latin America, North America and Eastern Europe. Accordingly, the Company has extended its presence in Sweden, where it was granted the design and construction project of a mobile bridge and the prolongation of the Road 261 between the cities of Ekerö and Lindö, as well as projects in Croatia, a country where it has carried out the modernization of the Vinkovci – Vukovar railway section and in which it has executed the first newly built railway line in 52 years (Gradec-Sveti Ivan Zabno). With regard to Latam, we highlight the excavation of the Amagá tunnels which belong to the Motorway called “Autopista Pacífico 1” and the renovation of the Chirajara-Fundadores section of the Bogotá – Villavicencio Corridor in Colombia. In Mexico during the last financial year, a double track section for the Light RailTrain was refurbished between the Taxquena terminal and the Estadio Azteca station.
At the same time, the Group continued to execute the Tram for the city of Odense (Denmark), the second phase of the L4 line for the Metro de Sao Paulo (Brazil) and it has renovated and extended the contracts for the installations and telecommunications in the CERN central offices, the world’s largest particle accelerator (France and Switzerland).
The Maintenance and Services area –which celebrated their 25th anniversary in 2019– continues to grow as consequence of the existing demand and the Company’s expert know-how in the sector. Among other contracts, COMSA Service performs the multi-technical maintenance of the facilities of the Health Care Consortium: Consorci MAR Parc de Salut in Barcelona, as well as the ABC Serrano Shopping Centre in Madrid.
In 2019, COMSA Renovables was integrated in the Infrastructure Development and Concessions area, thus enhancing the management of energy projects and the investment in renewable resources. During the past year, the Division supplied approximately 13,000 tons of forest biomass for thermal users in Northern Europe and 3,000 tons to Catalonia.
With regard to concessions, MIRCOM Concesiones de Infraestructuras, a corporation held by COMSA Concesiones with a 20% stake and by Mircoinvest –controlled by the Infrastructure fund management firm Mirova– with an 80% stake, acquired the stake in 2019 which COMSA Concesiones held in Cedinsa Concesionaria, the vehicle corporation which manages 4 road concession contracts in Catalonia.
In figures, the Infrastructure division headed by COMSA, invoiced 466M€; the Industrial Engineering division headed by COMSA Industrial billed 185M€; the Maintenance and Services area led by COMSA Service invoiced 88M€; and the Infrastructure Concessions division led by COMSA Concesiones and COMSA Renovables billed 13 M€.
Additional Activities
During 2019, the Company closed the sale of ADASA Sistemas, a company specialized in technological solutions applied to the integral water cycle to the German Investment firm SKion GmbH. This was an asset divestment operation considered as an additional activity in the Group’s Strategic Plan. Likewise, COMSA Corporación maintains its activity in the radio frequency broadcasting sector (Egatel) and the recycling of abandoned tires (GMN).
Innovation and Commitment
In 2019, COMSA Corporación invested more than 7 million euros in R&D+i activities, providing major support to over thirty projects in the development phase. Among the most outstanding projects, we highlight the SmartTower, a start-up devoted to the marketing of a remote inspection system for electrical and telecommunication towers based on an IoT platform (Internet of Things), and NEOBALLAST®, which has developed an advanced ballast with extended durability which reduces the noise and vibrations derived from train traffic.
In the corporate venturing sector and its investment in digital transformation, COMSA Corporación has started to work with the award-winner solutions from the first edition of the “The InnCom Challenge” program, focused on detecting the tools which improve efficiency and decision-making in the execution of large-scale infrastructure work projects.
Finally, with regards to responsible management, the Group has progressed in its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), analysing the most relevant ones for its activity and integrating these key elements in the corporate strategy. Thus, for example, in its determination to encourage a circular economy and sustainable consumption, the company has designed and commissioned a water osmosis treatment system in the excavation works of the Amagá Tunnel (Colombia) achieving the recycled use of 606,097 m3 of water for both the cooling of machinery and sanitary water use in the work site.
According to Jorge Miarnau, Chairman of COMSA Corporación, “the Group concluded the 2017-2020 plan with the certainty of having accomplished the stipulated objectives and has consolidated sustained growth derived from its core business. The Company’s century of expertise in the infrastructure and engineering sector, accompanied with the investment in technological innovation and the management of alliances with strategic partners to face upcoming challenges represent our main guarantee for the future”.
Jorge Miarnau also wished to highlight the Group’s excellent evolution in recent years after the serious economic situation and its capacity to overcome adverse scenarios: “In these times of uncertainty as consequence of the Covid-19 crisis, we trust in our strength to move forward together with all the professionals who comprise the Company as well as the robustness of our financial structures”.
