We can state that, after years marked by the outbreak and evolution of the health crisis caused by Covid‑19 and the progressive relaxation of restrictive measures on mobility, 2023 has returned us to pre-pandemic scenarios, both in activity and in financial figures. It is clear that the recovery in a global environment has been uneven, marked by persistent geopolitical uncertainties, fluctuations in raw materials and energy, and rising interest rates and inflation, among other aspects.

It is also clear that armed conflicts persist, focused on Ukraine and the Middle East, with tragic consequences in terms of human lives and displaced people, in addition to migratory crises that test the responsiveness of the receiving countries and that require coordinated action both internationally and locally.

In terms of the summary of the 2023 financial year, we see the recovery of activity in the entire Saba network, with growth compared to 2022 of 6% in short-stay hours and 3% in subscribers. It represents reaching 95% of the level of activity registered in 2019, in short-stay hours, and exceeding the 2019 figure in subscribers. Given a framework in which economic activity is recovering in a non-homogeneous manner in the countries in which we operate and with the disparity in scope of international macroeconomic factors, Saba maintains current measures of strict spending control and prioritisation of investments, implemented since the beginning of the health crisis, in order to preserve the interests of the company.

Regarding the salient figures for financial year 2023, operating income amounted to 308 million euros, 13% higher than in 2022, while EBITDA stood at 143 million euros, also 13% up on 2022, in both cases higher than the 2019 figures.

The company invested 26 million euros in fiscal year 2023, maintaining efforts to increase the operational efficiency of the business and implement initiatives that allow Saba to become a benchmark in the sector, with special focus on new support systems, new technologies and energy efficiency, in addition to innovative sales formulas and initiatives, and in developing active, growth-focused contract management.

At the same time, technological projects are promoted with a clear orientation: to adapt to the new needs of customers, stimulate sales and business activity and guarantee the efficient integration of new car parks in the future. The processes of requesting concession rebalancing and contract renegotiation have been maintained, as well as the search for new opportunities in the market, promoting the lengthening of the average contractual duration of the portfolio, with an estimated average life of 18 years.

I wish, once again, to emphasise the effort carried out in the control of investments and in the financial field, with an exhaustive permanent review of liquidity and debt, which in this second section has experienced a reduction despite the exceptional situation. In this sense, and despite the negative impact of the pandemic, the net accounting financial debt was below 500 million euros at the end of 2023, which represents a deleveraging of the company of more than 100 million euros since 2019.

In terms of development, the company has remained active in all the countries in which it is present. In Spain, Saba will manage the Paseo de la Castellana (1,229 parking spaces) and Padre Damián (629 parking spaces) car parks after being awarded the management contract in a public tender promoted by Real Madrid. The renovation of the Castellana 62 car park (116 parking spaces) was also achieved, also in Madrid, and the extensions of the contracts of the Port de Blanes Regulated Zone (153 parking spaces), the Cima Clinic (265 parking spaces), in Barcelona, and the concession contract for the Mataró Hospital (335 parking spaces).

We continue working to make the car park more than just a space for cars and motorcycles, but also for bicycles and other personal micro-mobility vehicles, car-sharing and rent-a-car, in an inter-modal regime, and also with public transport. Saba must adapt to people’s new habits and work to be a benchmark mobility manager, with the ambition of fostering the company’s growth and opening new lines of innovation in the sector, and income diversity, which will contribute to its consolidation in the future. Here I could cite the last mile (e-commerce lockers, proximity distribution), as well as services in the actual car park: digital screens, vending machines, company fleets, vehicle washing stations, among others. Saba has 3,300 carsharing and rental parking spaces.

In 2023, Saba continued working on one of its strategic commitments, the electrical infrastructure, which we began in 2018. Car parks, both public and private, are a great opportunity to offer electric charging infrastructure points for all vehicles, private, shared and fleets, in different modalities and for all needs, whether for isolated demand or for subscribers.; in cases where the car remains overnight in the car park or is only short-stay during working hours.

With a big push in 2023, the company has more than 1,280 electric charging points in car parks throughout the Group, 606 of which are promoted by Saba through strategic agreements and the rest managed by third parties. They constitute the most important electric charging network (semi-fast and fast, for subscribers and short-stay customers) in the sector. In 2023, savings of 817 tonnes of CO₂ emissions were recorded at Saba's own charging points. Worthy of note are the drive to launch fast charging in Spain, the growth in all markets and the effort to unify the charging model in all the countries in which we are present, adapting it to the markets.