Mota-Engil profit rises 24% as Africa and Latin America lift backlog to record €17.7 billion

Portuguese construction and infrastructure group Mota-Engil reported a 24% increase in attributable net profit to €74 million for the first half of 2026, as expanding operations in Africa and Latin America offset a sharp contraction in its European business.

Revenue increased by 6% to €2.90 billion, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation rose by 10% to €487 million. The group’s EBITDA margin improved from 16.1% to 16.8%, reflecting the growing contribution of higher-margin engineering, mining and infrastructure contracts.

The €74 million headline figure represents profit attributable to Mota-Engil’s shareholders. Including the €61.5 million assigned to non-controlling interests, total consolidated net profit reached €135.5 million, compared with €120.6 million a year earlier.

Earnings per share increased from €0.197 to €0.241, while the attributable net margin advanced from 2.2% to 2.6%.

The results underline the increasing importance of markets outside Europe to Mota-Engil’s growth strategy. Africa and Latin America each generated approximately 40% of group revenue and together accounted for the overwhelming majority of its construction order book.

Africa delivers the group’s strongest margins

Revenue in Africa increased by 11% to €1.16 billion, while EBITDA advanced by 12% to €287 million. The regional margin reached 25%, up from 24% during the same period of 2025 and considerably higher than the group average.

Angola, Nigeria and industrial engineering activities generated 68% of African revenue and 65% of the region’s EBITDA.

Industrial engineering — which includes long-term mining, earthworks and specialised infrastructure contracts — was particularly profitable. Revenue in the division rose by 15% to €411 million, while EBITDA increased by 16% to €118 million, producing a margin of approximately 29%.

These projects tend to have longer durations and higher margins than conventional construction contracts, providing the company with more predictable activity and greater revenue visibility.

Latin America benefits from Brazilian expansion

Latin American revenue grew by 7% to €1.17 billion, supported by the acceleration of projects in Brazil that had entered the order book during previous periods.

Regional EBITDA rose by 14% to €120 million, with the margin remaining close to 10%.

Mexico continued to dominate the business, generating 76% of Latin American revenue and 89% of its EBITDA. However, those percentages declined from 86% and 93%, respectively, as Mota-Engil expanded its activities in Brazil and other regional markets.

The gradual reduction in Mexico’s relative weight provides some geographic diversification, although the country remains one of the company’s most important sources of earnings and future contracts.

Project delays weigh on Europe

Europe produced a markedly weaker performance. Revenue fell by 20% to €194 million, while EBITDA declined by the same percentage to €15 million.

Mota-Engil attributed the contraction primarily to delays in the launch and transfer of significant projects in Portugal. Management expects those constraints to ease during the second half of the year as construction activity accelerates.

Despite the revenue decline, Europe’s EBITDA margin remained stable at approximately 8%.

The group’s environmental services division performed more strongly. Revenue increased by 3% to €314 million, while EBITDA rose by approximately 12% to €65 million, resulting in a margin of nearly 21%.

Record backlog provides several years of visibility

Mota-Engil ended June with a record backlog of €17.7 billion, representing an increase of 10% from the end of 2025 and approximately €3 billion more than a year earlier.

The backlog is equivalent to around 3.2 times the group’s annual revenue. Within engineering and construction, signed contracts represent approximately 3.7 years of activity, giving the company substantial visibility over future sales.

Africa and Latin America account for 86% of the total backlog in engineering, construction and industrial services.

Six core markets represent approximately three-quarters of the engineering and construction portfolio: Mexico accounts for 21%, Angola for 16%, Brazil for 14%, Portugal for 12%, Nigeria for 7% and Mozambique for 3%. Peru contributes a further 2%.

Industrial engineering represents 18% of the total order book, with several projects expected to operate for between five and seven years.

Major contracts incorporated before the end of June included the Santos–Guarujá immersed tunnel in Brazil, a battery gigafactory in Portugal, an industrial engineering extension in Ethiopia, a Portuguese railway project and an oil and gas contract in Brazil.

The Santos–Guarujá project involves an investment of approximately €1.2 billion and a 30-year concession. Once completed, it is expected to become the largest immersed road tunnel in South America.

Another €2.5 billion announced after June

Mota-Engil also announced approximately €2.5 billion in additional projects after the reporting period. These contracts were not included in the €17.7 billion backlog recorded on 30 June.

The new awards include around €185 million in Mexican transport infrastructure contracts, covering an elevated viaduct and an urban mobility project.

In Nigeria, the company secured an extension to the Kano–Maradi railway project valued at approximately €562 million. In Peru, it was selected to carry out works worth up to €120 million at Juliaca International Airport, including the reconstruction of its 4,200-metre runway while maintaining airport operations.

The largest announcement concerns a 30-year railway concession in the Democratic Republic of Congo, involving an investment programme estimated at approximately €1.54 billion.

The project is intended to connect copper- and cobalt-producing regions with Angola’s Lobito Corridor, strengthening an export route linking Central African mineral resources to the Atlantic coast. Mota-Engil already participates in the railway and logistics concession operating along the Angolan section of the corridor.

Because these projects were announced after June and include different contractual and concession structures, their eventual accounting treatment and timing may vary.

Debt rises despite lower interest costs

Mota-Engil’s net debt increased by €49 million from the end of 2025 to €1.99 billion, reflecting investment in equipment, concessions and other long-term assets, as well as dividend payments.

However, the ratio of net debt to trailing 12-month EBITDA improved slightly from 1.98 to 1.94 times, as earnings grew faster than borrowing.

Gross debt, including lease liabilities and supplier-financing mechanisms, reached €3.51 billion. The corresponding leverage ratio declined from 3.5 to approximately 3.4 times EBITDA.

The group reported total liquidity of €1.44 billion, comprising €882 million in available cash and financial investments and €559 million in unused credit facilities. Its gross debt had an average maturity of 2.8 years, with 68% carrying variable interest rates.

Net financial expenses improved from €117 million to €110 million. Interest costs declined as average borrowing rates fell, although adverse currency movements absorbed part of that benefit.

Cash conversion becomes a key test

Investment remained substantial but declined by 5% to €185 million, equivalent to approximately 6% of revenue. Most of the capital expenditure was directed towards industrial engineering contracts and growth projects in countries including Armenia, Ethiopia and Mali.

The environmental division invested €14 million, mainly in waste treatment and material-recovery infrastructure.

Operating cash flow nevertheless fell from €604 million to €368 million. This decline does not erase the improvement in profitability, but it increases the importance of working-capital management and the timing of payments from large public and private-sector clients.

Mota-Engil’s ability to convert its rapidly expanding backlog into cash will therefore be one of the main indicators for investors during the second half of the year.

Full-year target requires faster second-half growth

The group maintained its 2026 objective of increasing annual revenue by between 10% and 15%, while keeping its EBITDA margin close to the structural level achieved in 2025.

Management also expects an annual net margin of approximately 3%, capital expenditure equivalent to around 7% of revenue and a net debt-to-EBITDA ratio below two times.

Because first-half revenue increased by only 6%, meeting the annual growth target will require a meaningful acceleration during the remainder of the year. The expected start of delayed Portuguese projects and the ramp-up of large African and Latin American contracts will be central to that effort.

Mota-Engil operates in 23 countries and has spent recent years repositioning itself around large, long-duration infrastructure and industrial projects. The founding Mota family retains approximately 40% of the company, while China Communications Construction Company holds 32.41%.

The first-half figures demonstrate the benefits of that strategy: higher profit, stronger margins and unprecedented contractual visibility. They also expose its principal risks.

Mota-Engil is increasingly dependent on the execution of complex projects in emerging markets, while higher debt, weaker cash conversion and delays in Europe could limit the financial benefits of its expanding order book.

The next stage will therefore be measured not only by the number of contracts secured, but by how efficiently the company converts its record €17.7 billion backlog into revenue, cash and sustainable shareholder returns.