During the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders, held today in Barcelona, the President of Saba, Salvador Alemany, and the CEO of Saba, Josep Martínez Vila, have confirmed that after years marked by the health crisis caused by Covid-19 and the progressive relaxing of restrictive measures on mobility, the financial year 2023 has meant reaching the pre-pandemic scenario, both in activity and economic figures.

Regarding the salient figures for 2023, operating income amounted to 308 million euros, 12% higher than in 2022, while EBITDA stood at 143 million euros, also improving by 12% upon the 2022 figure, in both cases being higher than the 2019 figures, with an investment of 26 million euros, as highlighted by the President of Saba, Salvador Alemany. The EBITDA/revenue ratio is 46% in 2023, one of the highest in the sector at an international level and a clear reflection of the company's high efficiency level.

For his part, the CEO of Saba, Josep Martínez Vila, explained that Saba's short-stay activity increased by 6% compared to 2022, while the number of subscribers was 3% both higher than the previous financial year and 2019. This positive trend has continued in 2024 and in this first quarter purchasable activity reaches 2% more than in the same period of 2023, although not fully comparable due to the effect of Easter Week. In economic terms, revenue rose 5% and EBITDA rose 6% in the first quarter of 2024.

Given this recovery framework and the disparity in the scope of international macroeconomic factors, Saba has maintained in force the measures of strict spending control and prioritising of investments, in order to preserve the interests of the Group. All these factors allowed the EBITDA/Revenue ratio to reach 46% in 2023. Likewise, Josep Martínez Vila explained that Saba is on track to successfully complete the renewal of the Group's main financing contracts. In this sense, the Group's CEO has highlighted that, despite the negative impact of the pandemic, the net accounting financial debt has been below 500 million euros at the end of 2023, which represents a deleveraging of the company of more than 100 million euros since 2019 despite the impact of the pandemic.

Relevant fact for 2024: renewal of the Adif contract

Salvador Alemany took advantage of his intervention to explain that, in 2024, Saba is on track to renew the main off-street car park contract in Spain, along with that of Bamsa. The President of Saba added that “Adif has informed us that we have presented the best offer for the operation of the car park network of Adif and long-distance stations and the only thing missing is the signature for the formal awarding of the concession”.

This contract, which will last 15 years and includes 23,000 parking spaces in 55 stations, expandable to 30,753 in 64 stations, will begin on July 30 and is part of the Group's strategic objectives, taking into account the contribution it represents to the car park perimeter, both in size and presence, in addition to the profit and loss impact. Saba had managed this car park network since 2014, when it was awarded the tender in the bidding called by Adif at the time.

For his part, the CEO of Saba has highlighted the company's ability to manage and transform the car parks in the Adif network, with digitalization, sales activity, sustainability and the modernization of facilities, among other aspects, in a strongly competitive environment. It is also a reflection of Saba's ability to renew contracts, in this case linked to a sector such as the railways, which is so strategic in Spain, he commented.