General Meeting

The Assembly will be held at the Consorcio de la Zona Franca, Avenida Parc Logístic, 2-10, 08040 Barcelona in its first and only announcement (12.00h).

[14:22] Barrera, Elena

During the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting held today in Barcelona, Saba's President, Salvador Alemany, and Saba's CEO, Josep Martínez Vila, agreed that 2022 is the year in which the positive trend will return after two years affected by the pandemic.

Therefore, in an environment of recovery, after the start of 2022 still marked by the omicron variant, and the progressive elimination of all mobility restrictions, the company faced a year in which activity levels are already in the pre-pandemic period, and during which revenues increased to 275 million euros (+18%) and EBITDA to 127 million euros (+23%), with an investment of 27 million euros, according to Saba's President, Salvador Alemany.

On the other hand, the CEO of Saba, Josep Martínez Vila, highlighted that over the last few months of the year, there has been a recovery in the activity compared to 2019. In this regard, in 2022, Saba's rotation activity increased by 28% compared to 2021, approaching pre-covid levels, while the number of subscribers was 10% higher than the previous year and similar to the data registered in 2019.

This trend has continued in 2023 and in this first trimester activity is almost at the same level as in 2019, while, in economic terms, revenues and EBITDA are already above 2019.

Given this stage of recovery and the disparity in the scope of international macroeconomic factors, Saba has kept all measures implemented since the beginning of the pandemic to strictly control costs and prioritize investments to preserve the Group's interests. All these factors have led to an increase in the EBITDA/revenue ratio from 44% in 2021 to 46% in 2022. Josep Martínez Vila has also explained that in 2022 Saba successfully completed the novation of the Group's main financing contracts until 30 June 2024.

At the same time, technological projects are being promoted with a clear focus: meeting new customer needs, stimulating commercial and business activity, and guaranteeing the efficient integration of new car parks in the future. The processes of requesting rebalancing of concessions and renegotiation of contracts have also been maintained, as well as the search for new opportunities in the market, encouraging the extension of the average contractual life of the portfolio.

The Saba group focuses all its actions on consolidating its position as a leading operator and reinforcing the role of car parks as hubs of sustainable urban mobility for people, companies, and goods, true essential elements for improving traffic congestion, and a basic intermodal hub of the urban mobility network.

In the course of the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders held today in Barcelona, the Chairman of Saba, Salvador Alemany, and the Managing Director of the company, Josep Martínez Vila, took stock of the financial year 2021, in which the group's business was still affected by the development of the health crisis caused by Covid-19, especially in the first quarter, to embark on a recovery over the course of the year thanks to the gradual improvement in the epidemiological situation.

Regarding the review of the financial year 2021, the Managing Director explained that Saba "continued to monitor the impact of the pandemic, in particular by protecting the health of the company's whole workforce, and its effects on both financial and business activity, with the aim of returning to normality at all levels and protecting the company's financial solvency."

In 2021, thanks to a gradual recovery parallel to the phasing out of pandemic-linked restrictive measures, Saba's rotation business, with a majority holding by CriteriaCaixa, was 29% up on 2020, though still 30% down on 2019. Meanwhile, subscriber numbers in 2021 were 3% up on the previous year but remain 9% down on 2019. With regard to the main figures, operating revenue in 2021 came to 234 million euros, 18% up but 22% below 2019, and the EBITDA stood at 103 million euros, 43% more than in 2020 but 25% down on 2019. Saba invested 25 million euros in the financial year 2021.

Recovery was sustained in the first quarter of 2022, with a 78% increase in rotation, though this was 21% down on 2019, and a 17% increase in the number of subscribers, already reaching the same level as in 2019. There was also a 39% rise in revenue, 13% down on 2019, and an 83% rise in EBITDA, 20% down on 2019.

In terms of growth, in 2021 Saba agreed development operations, including new projects and renewals, in all the countries where it works. Josep Martínez Vila reviewed this area, in Spain highlighting concession contracts for the car park at the Gregorio Marañón university hospital in Madrid, and at the Delicias dock in the port of Seville, among others, as well as the deal reached in 2022 to overhaul and improve the car park in the Plaça d'Europa, Platja d’Aro (Girona province), a project in which the company is to invest 1.8 million euros.

Saba sees parking as a service hub for sustainable urban mobility, taking advantage of strategic city-centre locations, capillarity and uninterrupted service to work as an integral part of policy and in the mobility chain for people (electric vehicles, sharing, unipersonal mobility) as well as goods (last mile).

The General Meeting of Shareholders approved the annual accounts, delegation to the Board of Directors of the power to decide on a capital increase, issue of fixed-income securities and buyback of own shares. The Board also approved the appointment of two new Directors, Inmaculada Riera and Xavier Brossa.

In its desire to continue expanding its mobility offering and to be part of the solution for reducing urban pollution and road congestion, Saba has reached an agreement in principle with the logistics company Districenter (Holding H. Condeminas) to take a stake in the operator Geever, which specializes in last mile deliveries, and currently has warehouses in five Barcelona car parks in the Saba network, with plans to increase this to nine.

During the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, held today in Barcelona and online, the President of Saba, Salvador Alemany, and the CEO, Josep Martínez Vila, announced this operation, which will culminate in the next few weeks, and which continues the car parking model that Saba has been promoting for many years: hubs for sustainable urban mobility services, taking advantage of strategic locations in city centres, its capillarity and non-stop service to work as an agent integrated in policy and in the chain of mobility of people (electric vehicles, carsharing, one-person mobility), as well as goods (last mile).

En este mismo capítulo del impacto derivado de la última milla, el Consejero Delegado de Saba ha explicado que Saba contribuye a la cultura de la recogida de las compras por Internet en taquillas de e-commerce, que también permiten la devolución de las mismas, reduciendo el tráfico en el centro de las ciudades y la contaminación, en línea con la microdistribución sostenible. Saba ofrece esa solución con una oferta actual de 40 lockers en aparcamientos de España (Pudo, Amazon), Reino Unido (Amazon) e Italia (Inpost).

In terms of the 2020 balance sheet, and although it is clear that Saba’s salient figures were been greatly affected by the pandemic, resulting in a net loss, the company has maintained an operating income of 198 million euros (down 34%) and a positive EBITDA of 72 million euros (down 48%). Similarly, as a result of the health crisis, Saba's short-stay business was 47% below that of 2019, while the number of subscribers was 15% lower than in the previous year.

Among the new projects, the CEO of Saba highlighted the overall management project of municipal car parks in Portugal and the regulated zone of Viseu, and the Picoas Plaza shopping centre. Similarly, the purchase of technology operator Clicpark, with more than 54 locations in the Czech Republic and eight more in Slovakia. In the United Kingdom, the Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust hospital car park management contract and, in Germany, the car park in Bergedorf (Hamburg) and the agreement with Vivantes, Germany's largest municipal hospital operator to operate car parks in 8 hospitals in Berlin. Finally, the management contract for the Clínica Alemana in Chile and the construction of the Genova Benzi car park in Italy.

At the end of 2019 Saba had. for the first time, in excess of 400,000 managed parking spaces, ater being awarded the management contract for all the car parks in the ANA airport network in Portugal. This operation, which involves increasing the number of parking spaces managed by the company in that country by 66%, to 35,000 spaces, strengthens strategy of growth and geographical diversification of the Group, which is present in 9 countries, with a network of 1,230 car parks, and a workforce of 2,400 employees.

During the Ordinary General Shareholders' Meeting held today in Barcelona, as well as remotely, the President of Saba, Salvador Alemany, and the Chief Executive Officer, Josep Martínez Vila, underlined the main lines of FY 2019, marked by the incorporation of four new countries, the United Kingdom, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, into the Saba ambit, the application of new technologies in customer service and business transformation, as well as the improvement of operational efficiency.

The President of Saba gave his assurance that “we continue to insist on the idea of the car park as a service hub integrated into the city's mobility policy, encompassing also a whole ecosystem of businesses associated with infrastructure and the people who use it”.

In this sense, the CEO of Saba clarified that this concept of parking as a “container for mobility services” is reflected in the Saba network with the incorporation of electric charging services, with 190 parking spaces in 47 car parks in Spain, Andorra , Italy, Portugal and Chile, and 3G coverage, scalable to 5G, in 43 car parks in Spain.

Today, Saba Infraestructuras (Saba) held its Shareholders’ Ordinary General Meeting, during which it assessed the 2018 financial year, which was marked by an expansion operation that culminated in December 2018 and virtually doubled the company’s structure through the addition of new assets in the United Kingdom, Germany, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. The acquisition of these assets has strengthened Saba’s commitment to growth and geographical diversification, as it now manages 384,500 parking spaces in 1,200 car parks across nine European and Latin American countries. In the same financial year, a shareholder transaction resulted in CriteriaCaixa controlling 99.5% of Saba’s share capital.

The company’s car park business continued to gather pace in 2018, with overall growth of 4% in comparable terms, equivalent to a total of 84 million billable hours. This reveals an upward trend that has now last for four consecutive years. In 2018, Saba’s performance in Portugal (+9%), Italy (+5%) and Spain (+3%) was particularly positive, with significant increases. The number of subscribers compared to 2017 was also significant; this number increased by 4% to around 46,000 subscribers.

With respect to Saba’s key economic figures for 2018, without taking the new countries into account, its ordinary operating income stood at 223 million euros, 5% more than the previous year, while EBITDA reached 106 million euros, 6% more than in 2017. In terms of pro-forma data for 2018, and including new countries, Saba’s operating income amounted to 293 million euros (+31%) and EBITDA to 122 million euros (+15%). Profitability, in terms of the EBITDA margin, was 48%, the highest of the companies in the sector. If its presence in new countries is taken into account, the margin stood at 41.5%, which is still the highest in the sector. In 2018, Saba invested 250 million euros, of which 230 million (93%) were used for expansion.

As far as Saba’s management magnitudes are concerned, during the first trimester of 2019 and taking into account the new countries, operational income reaches up to 70 million euros, 35% more than in 2018, and 4% without taking into account the new countries. EBITDA reaches 28 million euros, with 18% increase regarding the same period of time the previous year, and 5% without taking into account the new expansion project.

Saba Infraestructuras (Saba) today held its Extraordinary General Shareholders Meeting following the changes in the company’s shareholding structure, announced on 30 July, which resulted in CriteriaCaixa obtaining a 98.8% stake in Saba. The President and Chief Executive Officer of Saba, Salvador Alemany and Josep Martínez Vila, respectively, spoke of CriteriaCaixa’s acquisition from Torreia, KKR and ProA of 48.7% of Saba, an operation that involved an outlay of €438 million, which represents a value per share of €1.217, putting the total value of Saba at 900 million euros.

The President of Saba, Salvador Alemany, recalled that in 2011 shareholders contributed €400 million by choosing the extraordinary dividend option distributed by Abertis for the creation of Saba. Salvador Alemany stressed that "there is no doubt that, seven years on, Saba has far exceeded the expectations at all levels that we set as shareholders". He also added that in this same period, Saba has distributed €80 million from the share premium account. In summary, "the investment of 0.54 euros per share in 2011 could lead now in 2018 to 1.325 euros per share in total for all those shareholders who accept the offer of CriteriaCaixa", added the President of Saba.

As regards Saba's main management figures between January and July 2018, ordinary operating income stood at €128 million (+4%), while ordinary EBITDA increased to €60 million (+6%).

The CEO of Saba, Josep Martínez Vila, also explained that, since last June, the company has completed several expansion operations in Chile and Portugal. It has been awarded the concession for 35 years of the General Mackenna car park, with 390 parking spaces, in Santiago de Chile, and has agreed a 7-year extension of the management contract of Clínica las Condes, with 2,700 spaces, also in Santiago de Chile.

In Portugal, the company has begun its 10-year concession of the Exponor car park, with 2,000 parking spaces, located in Matosinhos, near Porto, and has signed a new car park lease contract for 35 years for the Campus Nova School Parking of Business & Economics, with 520 parking spaces, located in the municipality of Cascais, 20 kilometres from Lisbon.

Josep Martínez Vila highlighted that the company, after the distribution of the share premium, now has cash and cash equivalents of €80 million, credit facilities of €50 million and a ratio of net debt/EBITDA of 4.5x which will allow it to continue with its development strategy and to successfully undertake new acquisitions.

Saba today held its Annual General Meeting, during which it evaluated FY 2017, marked by the company’s technological transformation, continuous improvement and an emphasis on adding value to its customer service quality. During this past year the company was driven by the firm commitment to sustain growth as a priority, in the same way as further optimizing the recurring management of the consolidated perimeter.

The car park business improvement was confirmed in 2017. Saba ended the year with an overall increase of 2% and 4% (in Europe), equivalent to a total of 80 million billable hours, representing stringing an upward trend for three consecutive years. Of note on this same subject is the number of subscribers compared to 2016, with a 3% increase to 44,000 subscribers.

During the January-April 2018 period, business is going well and figures continue demonstrating the sector’s recovery and consolidation: the turnover of the whole Group has increased by 2% to 26 million invoiced hours, with a total of 46,500 subscribers at the end of April.

As regards Saba’s main management figures in 2017, ordinary operating income stand at €213 million (+4%), while ordinary EBITDA reaches €100 million for the first time, with an operating profit of 47%, the highest in the sector among large international companies.

Saba today held its Ordinary General Shareholders Meeting during which it reviewed its results of 2016, a year when it confirmed the recovery of its activity and when it met its forecasts in terms of growth, technological and commercial innovation, and improved quality of service throughout the car park network. After completing its divestment in logistics parks in October 2016, which has bolstered the company’s financial structure, Saba now launches a chapter focusing entirely on growing its car park operations. Its objective is to become established as one of the leading international players in the sector.

The company ended 2016 with a 9% overall increase in its car park operations, which represents a total of 79 million hours invoiced. This accounts for a 5% like-for-like (without taking growth into account) increase. For the first time since 2008, the company has posted two positive yearly results. Of note on this same subject is the improvement in the number of subscribers compared to 2015, with a 14% increase to 43,000 subscribers, 4% like-to-like. During the January-April 2017 period, business is going well and figures that demonstrate the sector’s recovery: The turnover of the whole Group has increased by 6%, 3% like-to-like, to 26 million invoiced hours, with a total of 43,600 subscribers at the end of April.

Saba completed its divestment in logistics parks operations in October 2016. Between 2011 and 2016, Saba carried out four successive divestment operations, which totalled €300 million in shareholder’s equity, thus maximising the value of this business line and facilitating key operations, and also boosting Saba’s capacity in the car parking business. Saba’s President, Salvador Alemany, explained that "This process of transformation has not only allowed us to fund remarkable growth in the management of car parks with the aim of achieving prime international positioning, but it has also given us the necessary flows to overcome the last years of the consumer crisis that affected occupancy in the car parking sector".

Saba's CEO, Josep Martínez Vila, emphasized that, after closing this phase, Saba “will continue analysing all the opportunities for growth that emerge, always from an industrial and strategic perspective. We strive,” he added, “for geographic diversification and volume in order to be more competitive”. The internal transformation achieved since 2011, together with the increase in scope and the financial structure optimisation, such as the refinancing deal that Saba has recently arranged, “leave the company in a position to focus on new growth operations”, stated Josep Martínez Vila.