COMSA EMTE, a business group specialising in infrastructure, engineering, services and technology, closed the 2014 financial year with sales of 1,364 million euros. This represents a decrease of 8.3% over the previous year. International activity, at 644 million, continues to represent almost half of the total group sales.
During the last financial year, COMSA EMTE, a leading company in the development of rail projects requiring high technological and quality standards, has strengthened its railway specialisation strategy, a fact that has enabled it to consolidate its presence in the market, especially in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Railway activity now accounts for over 50% of the total portfolio of the core business of the group, comprising the businesses of infrastructure, engineering and maintenance services.
These three are still the most important business areas within the company, which, with a total of 1,126 million euros, account for over 80% of turnover in 2014. The remaining sales, 238 million euros, come from diverse areas of transport and logistics, environment, technology, concessions and renewable energy.
COMSA EMTE has also strengthened its international activity in the field of infrastructure and engineering in countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Poland, Romania and Lithuania. In this regard, the strategy of the company involves focussing its foreign activities on high value markets that offer optimum profitability.
Latin America
In 2014 COMSA EMTE has strengthened its activity in Latin America, its growth in Mexico being outstanding, and has increased its portfolio in countries such as Colombia, Peru, Brazil and Ecuador. Thanks to its rail expertise, the company has gained access to the Mexican rail market, with a contract to rehabilitate line 12 of the capital’s metro. Also in Mexico it has completed the electrical installations of the Bií Hioxo wind farm, one of the largest in the continent.
In Argentina, it maintains its position as a leading company in the rail sector, with the construction of the Chascomús junction and the renovation of various tracks throughout the country. In Colombia and Ecuador it is renovating a number of roads and is building the Julio Rincón railway terminal in Santiago de Cali and the terminal at Francisco de Orellana airport, respectively.
Outstanding in Peru is the improvement of the potable water and sewerage systems of Lima and Sicuani and the new substation at Moyococha in Yauli Junín, while in Brazil the group is carrying out work on wing assembly for the E2 aircraft of Embraer. Finally, it is worth noting the increased activity of the group in the Latin American Biopharma sector, with construction contracts for pharmaceutical plants, cleanrooms and air conditioning for private customers in Mexico, Uruguay, Brazil and Colombia.
Europe
Outstanding in the rail sector are the commissioning of the Ankara Metro and trams in Bursa and Gaziantep in Turkey, the ‘Rail Baltica’ project in Lithuania and the modernisation of the Wroclaw–Skokowa line in Poland. In the field of roads, construction of the Albi junction (France) has been completed, the Lugoj-Deva motorway (Romania) is under construction, and various routes in Latvia and Sweden are being renovated.
The group has also completed the cultural centre of Lugano (Switzerland) and is constructing a run-off water treatment plant in Berlin (Germany). In the engineering sector, it has executed the electrical and automation installations at a Jaguar plant in Solihull (UK) and has installed fire protection systems in a regasification plant in Dunkirk (France).
Other notable projects include the consolidation of intermodal traffic with Portugal, the installation in France of assembly lines for the Airbus and ornamental fountains in Paris and Nantes, and the rehabilitation of the hydro-meteorological network of the river basins of the Tisa and Crisuri in Romania
Africa
In Africa the activities in Algeria stand out, with the award of contracts for two WWTPs in Rouached and Bougherdine and construction of the landfill for special waste at Tébessa and a pharmaceutical plant in Constantine. In parallel, COMSA EMTE has expanded its presence in the sector of aviation in Morocco with new contracts in several airports in the country, is expanding the electricity network of Cape Verde and is carrying out the deployment of DTT in Tanzania.
Asia
Activity in Asia is focused in China, where the company carries out the design, manufacture and installation of automated assembly lines for the C919 commercial aircraft for the Chinese manufacturer COMAC. The Group has had its own production centre in Shanghai since 2013.
Spain
In the field of infrastructure, the group has been awarded new contracts in the ‘Basque Y’ and the Mediterranean Corridor, is building the new headquarters for Cuatrecasas in Barcelona and is carrying out urban development projects in some of the most important hubs of the Catalan capital, such as the Sants and Paseo de Gracia stations.
Outstanding in the engineering sector was the installation of the catenary for the Antequera–Granada high-speed line and fire protection systems on line 9 of the Barcelona Metro, as well as construction of pharmaceutical plants and telecommunications networks for various private customers.
In 2014 COMSA EMTE has also been awarded the maintenance contracts for several official buildings of the Government of the Community of Madrid, has increased freight traffic and has obtained the licence for passenger rail services. The group has won new contracts for street cleaning and waste collection in Catalonia and has driven its business of industrial waste recovery on an international level. It has also commissioned the Malaga Metro and has continued with the operation of the solar thermal plant at Les Borges Blanques in Lleida.
Innovation and ORP
COMSA EMTE has 60 ongoing projects of innovation in the field of infrastructure, engineering, water and environmental technology, industrial automation and broadcasting. During the last financial year the R&D&i activities that were carried involved an expenditure of nearly 20 million euros. In terms of prevention, Asepeyo has presented an award to the construction company COMSA for the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Prevention of Occupational Risks, ZERO Plan (COMSA EMTE Zero Risk), an initiative of the group to reduce workplace accidents.
Jorge Miarnau, president of COMSA EMTE, affirms that, “In 2014 we have continued with our commitment to internationalisation to offset the decline in the construction sector in Spain. Backed by over 120 years of experience, our rail expertise gives us differential value that allows us to access highly competitive international markets.”
