Intermoney: The Government of Western Australia has provisionally chosen the bid submitted by Acciona (Buy, PO 215) to build the Alkimos seawater desalination plant, located some 40 kilometres from Perth, the state capital, according to Expansión newspaper.
This is one of the largest water facilities to be built by the Spanish multinational, as the budget allocated by the local authorities for this infrastructure amounts to AU$2.8 billion (about €1.7 billion). According to local media, the plant’s dimensions are gigantic, as it will have a maximum production capacity of up to 100 billion litres per year to provide drinking water for the 2.5 million inhabitants of Perth and the surrounding area, an area characterised by low rainfall. The plant will be powered 100% by clean energy and will sign a PPA to contract the necessary energy on a long-term basis.
Assessment: Good news for Acciona, which is a continuation of the favourable evolution of its infrastructure business, which mainly includes civil construction and the water cycle. The project portfolio as of June this year exceeded €22bn, so this project is important. Construction, for its part, has been registering significant growth, with revenues up +37% in the first quarter to €2.9bn, while EBITDA, thanks to the increase in margins to 5%, rose +75%. Despite the large weight of the renewables business, including the global consolidation of Nordex from early 2023, Infrastructures should contribute 22% of the Group’s consolidated EBITDA, after growing +20% in 23e. Of the €215 OP at December 24e, we estimate that this division will contribute around €60.
