BAA owner Ferrovial flies into profit

Spanish construction group Ferrovial, owner of British airports operator BAA, Thursday posted first-half profits of 312 million euros ($446 million), largely on the sale of its Swiss affiliate, it said Thursday. The result was a sharp turnaround from losses of 164 million euros in the same period in 2010. Earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) -- a key measure of profitability -- were down 14.1 percent at 1.01 billion euros. The result was "driven by the capital gains generated by the sales of" Swiss affiliate Swissport for 695 million euros and its stake in Madrid's M-45 toll road for 68 million euros. "There was like-for-like growth in every line of the operating results, largely thanks to the positive performance of the airports business. "The two principal infrastructure assets, Heathrow (airport in London) and (Canada's) 407-Express Toll Route, continued to post strong growth." Revenues fell 15.6 percent to 4.873 billion euros. The group's massive debt, a consequence of its purchase of BAA in 2006, fell to 19.350 billion euros from 19.789 at the end of December.